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STATE OF SINGAPORE 
ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


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Published by Authority 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, SINGAPORE 


Printed by 
Lee Kim Heng 
Acting Government Printer 
Singapore 


1961 76 1g 


Set in the 
Times Roman Series 


Published in England by 
HER MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE, LONDON 


1962 
PRICE 15s. Od. NET 
This report 


is included in the series of Colonial Reports 
published for the Colonial Office 


8.0. Code No. 58—-1-49-59 





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 


Grateful acknowledgments are hereby made to everyone who 
has contributed in any way towards the production of this Report 
and especially to the Straits Times Press for providing photographs. 


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XII 


CONTENTS 


GENERAL REVIEW : - - 
HISTORY AND ADMINISTRATION - 
POPULATION - - é E 
PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION. - 
LAW AND SECURITY - - - 
LABOUR AND WELFARE - - 
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY - - 
CULTURAL AFFAIRS, INFORMATION 
EDUCATION - : : : 


WORKS AND BUILDING - - 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES - 


HEALTH - - - - - 
BIBLIOGRAPHY - - - - 


INDEX - - - - - 


AND PUBLICITY 


127 


189 
207 
219 
245 
279 
305 
313 


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ILLUSTRATIONS 


Page 
MORNING CALM - - - - - - - Frontispiece 
DISTINGUISHED VISITORS” - - - - - between 8-9 
His EXCELLENCY TAKING THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE facing 20 
Hrs EXCELLENCY INSPECTING A GUARD-OF-HONOUR _,, 20 
BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF MASS RALLY - - Sy 21 
MALAM RAKSAKSA RAKYAT (GRAND TATTOO) - 4 22 
SEA SPORTS - - - - > - - 4 22 
MUSICAL FLOATS, WATERBOAT AND FIREWORKS 

DISPLAY - - - - - - - => 5 23 
SWEARING IN OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY -_,, 34 
SINGAPORE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY BUILDING -_ ,, 35 
GENERAL ELECTIONS - - - - - - between 38-9 

and 40-1 
VOLUNTARY WORKERS AT OPERATION PANTAI 

CHANTEK - - - - - - - - facing 150 
NICOLL HIGHWAY PROMENADE UNDER CONSTRUC- 

TION - - - - - - - - 55 150 
MEDICAL ATTENTION AT A SOCIAL WELFARE CENTRE _ ,, 151 
GIMSON SCHOOL FOR Boys - - - - = 4s 151 
Dr. GOH KENG SWEE ADDRESSING MEMBERS OF 

THE CHINESE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE - - 45 172 
LOADING AND UNLOADING CARGO AT THE WHARF - _ ,, 172 
WORKMEN IN METAL AND INK FACTORIES - - 4 173 
EGGS BEING EXAMINED - - - - - oss 182 
ANEKA RAGAM RaA’AYAT - - - - - between 190-1 

and 192-3 
ENGINEERING STUDENTS AT THE POLYTECHNIC - facing 212 
DOMESTIC SCIENCE CLASS - - - ° =. a3 212 
TEACHING THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE - - - 5 213 
IN A SCIENCE LABORATORY - - - - lee 213 
MINISTER FOR EDUCATION VISITS BALESTIER 

JUNIOR TRADE SCHOOL  - - - - - 5 214 
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING - - - 4 215 
ALJUNIED ROAD CULVERT - . - - - 55 232 
A MODERN MARKET~ - - - ° - - 55 232 


WATERFRONT SCENE - - - - - = 5 244 


GRAPHS 
Page 
ISSUES OF BOOKS, RAFFLES NATIONAL LIBRARY - facing 204 
ADMISSION TO PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS between 208-9 


INCREASE IN SCHOOL ENROLMENT AND COMPARISON 
BETWEEN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY ENROLMENTS "7, 208-9 


COMPLETED BUILDINGS, CITY COUNCIL - - 239 
COMPLETED BUILDINGS, RURAL BOARD - - 240 


I GENERAL REVIEW 


19 5 9 WAS a year of firm and clear-headed progress in 

Singapore; a year of changed direction without loss 
of unity, a year of constitutional revolution and political stability. 
The major advance from the status of a Colony to that of an 
internally self-governing State was smoothly made and the first test 
of fully responsible Parliamentary government based on a mass 
electorate was successfully passed. While the major apparent 
changes were constitutional and political, the creation of a national 
outlook out of the application of the principles of self-government 
and self-responsibility in the spheres of economics and culture 
was no less important. These were the spheres in which the new 
constitutional powers gave the people the opportunities of re- 
adapting the institutions they had inherited to their own national 
purposes in the creation of a united Malayan nation. 

With a fundamental constitutional change re-inforced by the 
election of a party of new men with new policies and a new sense 
of urgency, it was inevitable that those who had been accustomed 
to established policies and procedures should feel some anxiety. 
But while the changes were great they were not catastrophic and 
the frictions of re-adjustment and re-orientation were less than 
some had feared—and one may add, than some had hoped. 

Meanwhile political parties were making their plans in anticipa- 
tion of the coming elections and the final stages of constitution- 
drafting and of preparing the machinery for elections for the first 
government under the new constitution. The first months were 
months of anticipation and preparation. 

On 27th November, 1958, the Constitution Order in Council 
had been laid before Parliament. The “pilot” Order in Council 
which had been issued previously, authorised the introduction of 
the new electoral machinery; the boundaries of the 51 constituencies 
were gazetted and the electoral registers prepared. These included 
the names of all adult citizens either by birth, or by registration 
under the Citizenship Ordinance of 1957. The number of registered 
electors was 555,655 compared with the 300,299 eligible to vote 
in the 1955 elections. 


2 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The machinery of elections was strengthened by the Legislative 
Assembly Elections (Amendment) Bill which was finally passed 
by the Assembly on 3rd March, after discussion during two 
sessions. Its recommendations were based on those of the Report 
of the Commission of Enquiry into Corrupt Electoral Practices 
which had been set up in 1957 under the Chairmanship of Mr. 
S. H. D. Elias, following the raising of the issue by Mr. Lee Kuan 
Yew in the light of his experience during the bye-election which 
he fought in his constituency of Tanjong Pagar in June 1957, 
and whose report was made in March 1958. Voting was made 
compulsory, the number and size of posters was brought under 
control, and the definition of treating was made more rigid; on 
election day free transport, canvassing, the use of badges, and 
loud-speakers, undue influence by crowds gathering near polling 
Stations, and participation by students or secret society members 
were all forbidden. 

The initiative in setting the pace and direction of the election 
campaign was taken and retained by the People’s Action Party 
whose leader in the Assembly since 1955 had been Mr. Lee Kuan 
Yew, the Secretary-General of the Party, and whose leader in 
the City Council, as Singapore’s first Mayor of Singapore, had 
been Mr. Ong Eng Guan, the Treasurer of the Party. The Opposi- 
tion to the P.A.P. was divided to the end. The Chief Minister, 
Mr. Lim Yew Hock, had come to office in 1956 succeeding Mr. 
David Marshall, as leader of the Labour Front. 

Late in 1958, however, he had set up a new party, the Singapore 
People’s Alliance, which he hoped to widen into a broad united 
front of all parties opposed to the P.A.P. While this strengthened 
his voting position in the Assembly in which four members of 
the Liberal Socialist Party crossed the floor to join the government 
benches for the February meeting of the Assembly, the party 
organisations of the Liberal Socialists and the Labour Front 
nevertheless continued in separate being. Moreover, the Minister 
for Communications and Works, Mr. Francis Thomas, who re- 
mained as Chairman of the Labour Front, resigned from the 
Government on 31st January, and Mr. Richard Lim, the Deputy 
Speaker, resigned to join the M.C.A. Both were nominated 
members of the Assembly. Mr. M. P. D. Nair took over Mr. 
Thomas’ portfolio. Attempts were made up to the eve of the 
election, but without success, to bring agreement, if not consolida- 
tion, between the S.P.A. and the Liberal Socialists. 


GENERAL REVIEW 3 


The election campaign opened in effect with the first P.A.P. 
rally which was held on Hong Lim Green on 14th February. At 
the rally, the allegation was made that the S.P.A. had received 
$500,000 from American sources as a fighting fund for the coming 
election, and that these funds had, as such, been exempted from 
Income Tax. Following challenges, by those concerned, of the 
truth of the allegation, the party asked for a Commission of 
Inquiry and in the text of the motion which they submitted to 
the Assembly the name of the Minister for Education, Mr. Chew 
Swee Kee, was first given as the alleged recipient. The day before 
the motion was debated, the Minister announced his resignation 
from the Government and from the Assembly “to clear the good 
name of the S.P.A.” No new appointment was made to the 
Ministry of Education. 

The following day, 4th March, after a heated and emotional 
debate in the Assembly the Chief Minister announced his intention 
of setting up an Inquiry Commission. It was during this debate 
that Mr. Francis Thomas, who had remained on the Government 
side, left the Government benches. At future meetings he sat on 
the Opposition bench. 

Meanwhile, the Minister for Health was out of action on account 
of ill-health, and the Government was therefore at its weakest in 
its last month. At the final meeting of the Assembly, on 18th 
March, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew tabled a motion of no confidence in 
the Government demanding the resignation of the Government 
in view of the “public disgust and loss of confidence”. Following 
a debate which traversed much the same ground as the debate 
of 4th March, the motion was defeated by 19 votes to 6. On 
19th March, the Assembly agreed to set up a Commission of 
Inquiry into the leakage of information from the Income Tax 
Department which had been revealed in the debate on 4th March 
as the source of information to the P.A.P. The Assembly was 
dissolved on 31st March, a day before the last possible date under 
the constitution. 

During these last months of the Assembly, the only other sphere 
in which new legislation was passed was in the sphere of economic 
policy. Six ordinances provided the means of carrying out a policy 
of encouraging industrialisation by rebates of income tax for 
pioneer and expanding industries, by providing for a Customs 
tariff to give selective protection to new industries, by giving 
powers to control industries to ensure full local participation in 
their financing and organisation, and finally for the setting up of 


4 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


a People’s Investment Corporation to allow participation by the 
small investor through the state in the promotion of new national 
industries. The Planning Ordinance and the Housing and Develop- 
ment Ordinance which set up a Board to replace the Singapore 
Improvement Trust were non-controversial measures in fulfilment 
of established policy. An Immigration Amendment Ordinance 
gave increased powers on control of Immigration in accordance 
with the new constitutional policy and the citizenship concept 
introduced by the Citizenship Ordinance. 

With the dissolution of the Assembly the political argument 
was transferred to the Supreme Court. The investigation which 
provided some insulation against the prevailing electioneering 
climate of the charges against Mr. Chew Swee Kee and of the 
leakage of information were both referred to Mr. Justice Buttrose 
who opened the Inquiry on 6th April, but the Inquiry about the 
Income Tax Department was delayed because of the absence on 
leave of the principal witness, the Comptroller of Income Tax. 

A parallel growth of political tension in the City Council arising 
out of the relationship of the Mayor with the opposition and with 
the Chief Administrative Officer led to the setting up of another 
commission. The immediate issue arose from the resignation of 
the Superintendent of the Markets and Hawkers Department 
which led to heated debates in the City Council on the relation 
of the Mayor to the City Council staff in general, and to the Chief 
Administrative Offier in particular, and their respective powers 
under the Local Government Ordinance. 

On 13th March, the opposition walked out of a City Council 
meeting in protest against the way in which the Mayor was con- 
ducting the meeting and immediately took their protest to the 
Minister for Local Government, Lands and Housing. He asked for 
a verbatim report of the meeting of the Council. 

On 26th March, the Minister under the Ordinance took over 
certain powers of the City Council, particularly those over staff, 
and the powers to pass supplementary budgets or take emergency 
measures. This had the effcet of suspending the corrective action 
which the Mayor had announced he was taking against the Chief 
Administrative Officer. The Minister also announced his intention 
to set up a Commission of Inquiry into the working of the City 
Council and the relations of the Mayor with the Administration. 
The P.A.P. City Councillors challenged the legality of the Minister’s 
action, but remained in office. 


GENERAL REVIEW 5 


On 3rd April, the Commission was set up under the Chairman- 
ship of Mr. S. H. D. Elias. At an election rally the following day 
the P.A.P. announced that, should they be elected, they would 
abolish the City Council, transferring its Public Utilities to a Board 
and the remaining functions to appropriate government depart- 
ments. When the Commission met on 7th April, Mr. Lee Kuan 
Yew challenged the fitness of the Chairman for his role because 
his close association as a nominated Councillor with Liberal 
Socialist Councillors made him an interested party. While denying 
the allegation, Mr. Elias adjourned the Inquiry. On an appeal 
to him the Chief Justice rejected the prohibition asked for, but 
advised Mr. Elias, in view of the atmosphere of controversy around 
him, to resign. Mr. J. F. McWilliam, District Judge and First 
Magistrate, then assumed the Chairmanship. The Inquiry was not 
carried through. On 19th April, following the Minister’s use of 
certain of the resumed powers, the Mayor and the P.A.P. Coun- 
cillors, 12 out of 14 of whom were candidates for the Assembly, 
resigned from the City Council. 

On Nomination Day, 25th April, 194 candidates were nominated 
for the 51 constituencies, 160 from 10 different parties, and 34 
Independents. The P.A.P. nominated a candidate for every con- 
stituency. The forces against them were divided. Mr. Lim Yew 
Hock had failed to bring any other Party into his Singapore 
People’s Alliance. In the outcome, the S.P.A. nominated 39 can- 
didates and supported three Independent candidates who had 
resigned from the Liberal-Socialist Party; while the Liberal- 
Socialists nominated 32 candidates. The U.M.N.O.-M.C.A. 
nominated 13 candidates while the Labour Front, led by Mr. 
Francis Thomas, and the Workers Party, led by Mr. David. 
Marshall, each nominated three candidates. | 

The P.A.P. started with many advantages. They had a strongly. 
organised party giving sympathetic expression to the hopes of the 
new Chinese-speaking, Singapore-born generation. It had a clear 
policy, good slogans, a symbol round which had grown four years 
of association, and gave an impression of cohesiveness and 
purposiveness. It had intellectual ability and a leadership drawn 
from many professions. On balance, the City administration had 
brought it credit, and the Opposition was not able to give promise 
of a better alternative policy or administration. 

The Singapore People’s Alliance was a new party and its 
supporters drawn from too diverse groups too quickly to have the 
cohesiveness of the P.A.P. The allegation which was proved of 


6 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


the receipt of $500,000 for its party funds allowed the spread of 
the suggestion of corruption. The Liberal-Socialist Party, apart 
from the effect of their vote-splitting, had an even greater effect 
in advertising the dis-unity of the anti-P.A.P. parties without any 
apparent difference in policy and with every appearance of 
difference in personalities. The newly-registered electorate who 
could have judged easily between a two-party system, or between 
a number of well-established parties with well-known leaders were 
confused by many names of many parties without distinctive 
policies. 

It was a hard-hitting campaign, but orderly in spite of the 
great issues involved with their emotional over-tones, and the size 
of the new electorate. It was concerned with positive policy more 
than with negative criticism, or emotionalism, but the whole 
election campaign including election day went off without serious 
incident. 

In many ways it was a model campaign and if the practice of 
elections is an essential part of the Parliamentary democracy, the 
lessons had been learned. There were no incidents involving police 
action, and the tighter legislation to prevent secret society or other 
intimidation or the undue influence of school-children worked out 
well. A committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, 
Mr. E. B. David, and consisting of members of the major parties 
met weekly and provided a forum where the complaints of parties 
could be heard and the parties could agree on means to keep the 
election flowing smoothly. 

There were up to 200 meetings a night, mostly well-attended 
throughout. The audience at some of the P.A.P. meetings exceeded 
10,000. There were posters, leaflets, banners, regular radio broad- 
casts, and intensive canvassing. Parallel with the parties’ cam- 
paigns was an intensive campaign organised by the Department 
of Information Services to tell people that the vote was compulsory 
and secret, and to explain the voting procedure to an electorate 
more than 55 per cent of whom were new citizens and voting for 
the first time. Over a million leaflets in four languages, over 
150,000 posters, and poster strips, car stickers, and letter stamps, 
illuminated floats with neon lights and moving devices, films and 
public address units, as well as press advertisements were used 
to urge the vote as the key to civic action and decisiveness. 

The process reached its successful climax on Election Day. It 
was a day unlike any previous election day for the law forbade 
canvassing of voters, free transport to the polls, or any gathering 
at or near polling stations of crowds which might intimidate the 


GENERAL REVIEW 7 


voters. It had the atmosphere of the Public Holiday which it was 
by law. Yet 90 per cent went to the poll and they went early. Fifty 
per cent had voted by noon and 85 per cent had voted by 5 p.m. 
Queues were patient and orderly, and old and young of all com- 
munities waited willingly and patiently and understandingly to 
give their vote. The day including the counting ended without 
incident to the surprise of those who feared trouble of some kind 
and had decided to stay at home. 

Although the majority were voters for the first time, the 
proportion of spoilt votes was only 1.2 per cent. 

The election result was decisive. The P.A.P. won by any count. 
They won 43 of the 51 seats, including every seat in the rural areas. 
In 31 of these seats they had an absolute majority over all other 
candidates. Overall, the P.A.P. won 281,891 votes or 53.4 per cent 
of the total votes cast. They lost no deposits. 

The S.P.A. had nominated 39 candidates and in other con- 
stituencies supported three Independents, who had resigned from 
the Liberal-Socialists. Four were returned, all on minority votes. 

The Liberal-Socialists nominated 32 candidates: not one 
succeeded. They polled just over 8.1 per cent of the total votes, 
forfeiting 20 deposits. 

Of the U.M.N.O.-M.C.A. candidates, two won by absolute 
majorities and one on a minority vote. All were Malays. They 
won 6.3 per cent of the votes cast. Of the 34 Independents, only 
one was returned, the one supported by the S.P.A. The remainder 
collected 37,411 votes or 3.5 per cent of the total electorate with 
24 forfeiting their deposits. Of the other eight small parties, none 
won a seat. They too collected 3.5 per cent of the total poll, and 
of their 25 candidates, 21 forfeited their deposits. 

Of the 16 elected members of the previous Assembly who con- 
tested the election all the three members of the P.A.P. and only 
two of the former Ministers won re-election. 

During their election campaign the P.A.P. had declared that 
they would not take office until 8 of their former leaders, detained 
under the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance, had been 
released. When, therefore, Sir William Goode, as Governor, follow- 
-ing the resignation on Ist June of Mr. Lim Yew Hock, asked 
Mr. Lee Kuan Yew as leader cf the majority party to form a 
government, the request for the release of the detainees was 
formally made. On 2nd June, the Governor announced that “in 
the changed political situation” and “in order to achieve a swift 
and smooth introduction of the new constitution” they would be 
released on 4th June. 


8 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Mr. Lee then agreed to form a government and on 3rd June, 
the new constitution was brought into force by Proclamation of 
the Governor and Sir William Goode took his oath of office as 
Yang di-Pertuan Negara of the new State. To celebrate their 
accession to power, the P.A.P. as the governing Party held a 
well-attended rally on the Padang on the evening of 3rd June. 
All the P.A.P. candidates, successful and unsuccessful, were on 
the platform, wearing for the first time their official dress of white 
for the women members, and of white trousers and open-necked 
white shirt for the men. 

Mr. Lee Kuan Yew who spoke last—and spoke in three 
languages, Malay, Mandarin and English—received an enthusiastic 
reception as the leader in victory. The new Government he said 
“had no future apart from the future of the people.” “We share 
the same future—be it good, indifferent or bad. The people must 
do their duty to themselves and their fellow citizens.” During the 
next 5 years, said Mr. S. Rajaratnam, in a later speech, the P.A.P. 
hoped “to convince the people that social and economic justice 
can be secured through the methods of democratic socialism.” 
But the “paramount interest of the Government was that of the 
people as a whole.” Things would not however all be easy. “The 
good things of life do not fall down from the skies. They can only 
come by hard work over a long time.” 

The following morning the 8 detainees were released from 
Changi Gaol. They went immediately to the P.A.P. party head- 
quarters to meet the newly re-elected Party committee, and six of 
them afterwards gave a Press Conference at which they declared, 
in a statement prepared two months previously, their loyalty to 
the Party and to its objective of achieving an “independent, 
democratic, non-Communist, socialist Malaya by peaceful, 
democratic and constitutional means” and of “complete identi- 
fication with the ideal of a United Malayan nation.” 

The following afternoon in the City Hall Council Chamber 
before an audience largely consisting of P.A.P. Asssembly members 
and Committee members and the released leaders, the nine 
Ministers were sworn in before Sir William Goode, each taking 
the Oaths of Allegiance and of Office. After the oaths were taken, 
Sir William read a cable from Mr. Harold MacMillan offering 
“any help that lies in our power” and wishing every success to 
the new Ministers. The new Prime Minister read his reply which 
said: “My Government will require all the goodwill and help 
from all those who wish our people well.” 


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GENERAL REVIEW 9 


Nine Ministers were appointed. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew became 
Prime Minister and Dr. Toh Chin Chye, the Chairman of the 
Party, Deputy Prime Minister, both without specific portfolios. 
Their offices were opened in the City Hall. Mr. Ong Eng Guan 
was appointed Minister for National Development taking over the 
work of the former Ministries of Local Government, Lands and 
Housing, and Communication and Works, as well as the responsi- 
bility of the previous Minister for Commerce and Industry for 
Fisheries and Agriculture. Immediately after he had been sworn 
in, orders were signed transferring all City Council powers to his 
Ministry and cancelling the writs for bye-elections for the City 
Council. 

Che Ahmad bin Ibrahim, a member for the former Assembly, 
was appointed Minister for Health. Dr. Goh Keng Swee became 
Minister for Finance, including Establishment matters and the 
Commerce and Industry functions of the previous Ministry. Mr. 
K. M. Byrne became Minister for Labour and Law, taking over 
the Labour and Welfare Departments, and the Attorney-General’s 
Office now under the State Advocate-General. Mr. S. Rajaratnam 
was appointed to the new Ministry of Culture taking over 
Information Services and Broadcasting and, from the Ministry of 
Education, responsibility for Libraries and the Museum. Mr. Ong 
Pang Boon, the former Deputy Mayor, became Minister for 
Home Affairs adding to most of the responsibilities of the former 
Chief Secretary’s Office that of the Department of Immigration. 
Finally, Mr. Yong Nyuk Lin became Minister for Education. In 
a subsequent re-allocation in October, the responsibility for the 
City Council, the Rural Board and the Harbour Board was 
transferred to the portfolio of the Prime Minister. 

It was a young Cabinet—with an average age of 37: it was a 
Cabinet of high academic standards—with 8 University graduates 
among its nine members; and its members are drawn from the 
law, public administrations, business and trade unions. They 
brought ability, confidence and courage, and a clear programme, 
well and long debated beforehand among themselves, and in 
public. In his broadcast that evening, the Prime Minister pro- 
mised: “We shall do our best to give you, not only a firm and 
stable government, but one which will carry with it the support 
and co-operation of the majority of the people”. 

Following the appointments of the Ministers, the names of their 
Parliamentary Secretaries were announced on 10th June. Later 
each of the P.A.P. Assemblymen was allotted to a Ministry. They 
were appointed “primarily as liaison officers between the Minister 


10 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


and the public” to allow them “to participate as effectively as 
possible in the task of government.” Other appointments were 
the nomination of Mr. G. Kandasamy as Deputy Speaker, the 
appointment of Mr. K. C. Lee, the Parliamentary Secretary 
to the Ministry of Culture as Chief Whip, and the appointment 
of Mr. J. J. Puthucheary, as Manager of the Industrial Promotion 
Board and head of the Economic and Research Division, formerly 
attached to the Chief Minister’s Office. 

A new range of offices was created when the government in 
September announced the appointment of the first three Political 
Secretaries to Ministries. Their role was defined by the Prime 
Minister in the Assembly on 2nd September. As “the closest 
confidantes of the Ministers on the political implications of their 
moves, plans and policies” they brought “a political skill and 
aptitude which could not be expected from a permanent non- 
political civil service.” This involved neither administrative 
responsibilities nor direct access to civil servants. Seven, in all 
were appointed, one subsequently resigning for personal reasons. 

The new Government made immediately clear its determination 
to spare no effort to establish close relations with the Federation 
of Malaya. On 3rd June before they took office, Mr. Byrne had 
flown to Kuala Lumpur to meet Dato Abdul Razak, the Deputy 
Prime Minister. On 13th June, the Prime Minister took four of 
his colleagues—Mr. Ong Eng Guan, Che Ahmad bin Ibrahim, 
Dr. Goh Keng Swee and Mr. Ong Pang Boon to Kuala Lumpur 
to meet the Prime Minister, the Minister for External Affairs, and 
their opposite numbers in the Federation Government. The official 
statement described the discussion as “free and frank and 
friendly” with the “accent throughout” on “agreement on common 
ground rather than on any probable differences in approach to- 
wards political, social and economic problems.” The principal 
subject of discussion was the Internal Security Council. The 
official communique gave special emphasis to the need for 
communal harmony on which “both Prime Ministers and all 
Ministers present were firmly agreed that under no circumstances 
would they countenance any attempts to arouse racial or com- 
munal friction, as all considered that tolerance and harmony 
were vital to the well-being and advancement of the cosmopolitan 
society of both territories”’. 

Two days later, the membership of the Internal Security Council 
was announced. Sir William Goode, as U.K. Commissioner would 
be Chairman: The Singapore representatives were Mr. Lee Kuan 
Yew, the Prime Minister, Mr. Ong Pang Boon, the Minister for 


GENERAL REVIEW 11 


Home Affairs, and Mr. Ong Eng Guan, Minister for National 
Development. The remaining two U.K. representatives were Mr. 
H. T. Bourdillon, the Deputy U.K. High Commissioner and Major- 
General C. L. Richardson, the G.O.C., Singapore. The Federation 
representative, the seventh member with the crucial casting vote 
was Dr. Ismail bin Dato Abdul Rahman, the Federation Minister 
for External Affairs. 

The first meeting was held in July. On 22nd August agreement 
was reached on the form of the inter-governmental committee 
agreed at a 1957 Constitutional Conference for “continuous con- 
sultation and discussion between the two governments on any 
matters affecting Singapore arising from Britain’s responsibilities 
under the constitution of the State of Singapore for external affairs 
and defence”. The Prime Minister announced the acceptance of 
the Singapore Government on the understanding that “attendance 
at meetings of this committee does not arise from any constitutional 
obligation upon my government and such attendance must in no 
way be construed as agreement to, or concurrence with, British 
policies in external affairs and defence”. 

The month of introduction ended with the first meeting of the 
Legislative Assembly on Ist July at which the new members took 
their oaths of office, and the Yang di-Pertuan Negara, Sir William 
Goode, in a lounge suit, his colonial uniform laid aside, read in 
Malay language the speech which set out the detailed policy of 
the government for the first session. For the first time the system 
of multilingualism by simultaneous translation into Malay, English, 
Chinese and Tamil was in use. The speech opened with the pledge 
that “during the next five years a government elected by a decisive 
majority of the people will, through peaceful and constitutional 
means, take the social revolution a step further. It is a government 
pledged to bring about a more just society”. The “prime task” 
was to “build up a climate of confidence under which trade 
expansion and industrial growth can take place”. 

The “substantial advantages” to be gained by the Singapore 
and Federation Governments through integration of their economic 
policies would be pursued; while, internally, industrial peace and 
justice would be sought primarily by the encouragement of col- 
lective bargaining. But the key lay in “a unified Trade Union 
Movement under the leardership of a Trade Union Congress with 
executive powers and a Court of Labour with powers to enforce 
its awards”. 


12 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


- In the sphere of health, while deficiencies would be remedied, 
emphasis would lie on the development of preventive medicine in 
full co-operation with the public. The work of the National 
Development Ministry would concentrate on housing. The policy 
of the Ministry of Education would work for the realisation of the 
three principles of equal recognition of education in the four 
language streams, the development of Malay as the national 
language, and a reform of the school syllabi to concentrate on 
practical subjects such as mathematics and science and so meet 
the needs of an industrialising society, and on the study of the 
languages of the State. 

On the new Ministry of Culture would fall the responsibilities 
not only of educating and informing the public but of “instilling 
in our people of all races the will to be a nation”, and striving 
towards the creation of a Malayan nation. 

On its policy towards the Federation the government’s policy 
was unequivocal. “It is the Government’s intention during its term 
of office to create and bring about conditions favourable to an 
early re-unification with the Federation. The Government will 
take firm action to prevent any irresponsible activities by in- 
dividuals or organisations to negate this paramount interest of 
the people of Singapore and Malaya’’. In maintaining the internal 
security of the State, the government would “fight and counter 
subversion be it from the Right or from the Left”. Not only with 
the Federation but with Singapore’s close neighbours of South- 
East Asia, every step would be taken to strengthen relations. On 
a personal note, the Yang di-Pertuan Negara spoke of the time 
when after five months of office he would hand over the “duties 
and the honour of this high office to a Malayan-born who will 
be more suited to fulfil the role of constitutional Head of State 
in a society where symbols for national identification and solidarity 
can play so valuable a part in nation-building”. 

The pattern of Parliament continued. The speaker and his staff 
retained their wigs and robes; the new P.A.P. Assemblymen 
adopted the dignified informality of open-necked shirts. Under 
the understanding guidance of the Speaker and the effective leader- 
ship and example of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the 
House and Deputy Prime Minister, the new Assemblymen of the 
‘party in power acclimatised themselves to the new pattern with 
loss neither of dignity, vigour nor effectiveness. The procedures for 
bills and the complicated budget procedures were followed fully 
and with mastery. The new Standing Orders approved in December 


GENERAL REVIEW 13 


applied and adopted, but did not alter basic principles. Meetings 
were held each month and 26 bills were passed before the end of 
the year. To impinge as little as possible on the administrative 
responsibilities of government and to allow a larger public attend- 
ance, sessions were held in the afternoons and evenings instead of 
in the mornings and afternoons. 

Similar though the scene of the Assembly might be, its power 
and its prestige had grown with its fully elected membership and 
its legislative sovereignty in internal affairs and its ultimate power 
over a cabinet responsible to it and dependent entirely on its 
continued support. The new Assemblymen had new responsibi- 
lities. A special programme of lectures and visits was arranged to 
describe the working of the constitution and the wide range of 
administrative responsibilities which Government were responsible 
to them for fulfilling. 

The process of mutual adaptation was described by the Prime 
Minister at the end of the first course for Assemblymen on 29th 
October when he said: “The political leadership understands that 
they have to improve on the apparatus of the state they have 
inherited and work it. The administrative personnel, on the other 
hand, have appreciated that there are constant pressures from the 
ground on the political leadership”. 

Although the personnel and framework of the civil service 
continued, its service to a government popularly elected by an 
electorate predominantly new to the parliamentary machine, and 
the heavier load and greater speed required from it in the new 
circumstances required a new understanding and a re-adjustment 
of attitudes. For the senior members of the service, there was the 
additional personnel and financial adjustment to the reduction in 
their cost of living allowances. 

As measures of immediate economy, the Minister for Finance 
announced a reduction in the allowance of Government officers 
which did not affect the 65 per cent earning under $220 per month, 
but which operated fully on the 10 per cent earning a monthly 
salary of $505 or more. This was announced on 19th June follow- 
ing an announcement on 15th June of a cut in $450 in the income 
of Ministers, and of $250 in the income of Parliamentary 
Secretaries. There were protests over the cut, its immediate impact 
without allowing time for civil servants to adjust their commit- 
ments and its implementation without negotiations with the unions 
of government servants. But the Minister for Finance pointed to 
the increase of government expenditure from $94 million in 1949 


14 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


to $268 (including $115 millions in salaries) in 1955, the fall in 
Government reserves from $322 millions in 1953 to $87 millions 
in 1958 and the likelihood of a deficit of $14 millions in the 1959 
accounts. By the end of the year, special allowances had been 
given for technical and professional officers. 

With the growing mutual acquaintance, assessment and 
appreciation of the first six months, much of the defensiveness 
and misunderstanding dissipated, and the civil service took readily 
and effectively the responsibilities falling on them as a result of 
speedy Malayanisation, new areas of operation and new urgencies 
from the new electorate. 

A Political Study Centre was established in September where 
senior civil servants could study their new role as national 
administrators in the service of a popularly elected government. 

Once the new Ministers had taken office and the new machinery 
established, re-organised or set in their new direction, the re- 
maining months of the year showed the full unfolding of policy. 

In general it sought to give a new sense of urgency, to encourage 
even if only through complaints bureau, a feeling that the Govern- 
ment had new responsibilities to and partnership with, the new 
citizens, to re-adjust laws for aliens to laws for citizens, and to 
re-organise institutions where effective appeal had been narrower 
than their acclaimed purposes. 

The Ministry of Finance gave first attention to the need for a 
balanced budget to ensure not only solvency now, but the prospect 
of solvency in the years ahead with declining reserves and growing 
welfare commitments; and in doing so to brighten the climate of 
commercial opinion, hesitant as a result of constitutional change. 
Following the reduction in the incomes of Ministers and the 
variable allowances of senior civil servants, vacancies in govern- 
ment service were “frozen” pending re-consideration, development 
plans not yet started were held up and a Cabinet Budget com- 
mittee was set up under the Prime Minister. 

In September the Minister was already able to announce savings 
of $10,000,000 and increased taxation on cigarettes and tobacco 
which with assessments on rural land and vacant land was 
estimated to bring in $16,000,000 in revenue. Two loans together 
amounting to $40,000,000 were floated by the Government in 
September and were over-subscribed within 8 days. With this 
success to his credit, the Minister went to London for the meeting 
of the Commonwealth Finance Ministers bearing two specific 


GENERAL REVIEW 15 


requests for assistance towards the cost of expanding the inter- 
national Airport and for the taking over, as part of the United 
Kingdom responsibility for external defence, of the cost of the 
Singapore Infantry Regiment. These, it was agreed, would be 
considered together with the requests for assistance under the 
Development Plan which was already under preparation by a 
strengthened and re-organised research staff. As a result of his 
financial measures, the Minister was able to announce in his 
Budget speech a surplus of $1,000,000 in place of the deficit of 
$4,000,000 budgetted for. 

The second concern of the Ministry was the development of 
the economy by the stimulation of trade, by negotiations with 
the Federation for the establishment of a Common Commodity 
Market, and finally by the development of industrialisation. The 
year had been one of a stable rubber price, maintained above a 
dollar a pound, and with exports at the highest level for 8 years. 
There was an increase of total trade from $5,581.7 millions in 
1958 to $5,826.2 millions in 1959, and with a fall of one-third in 
the adverse balance of trade to $3,848 millions. 

To achieve both political and economic understanding with 
Indonesia was an early consideration of Government. Good rela- 
tions were established early and Brigadier General Djatikusumo, 
on his leaving Singapore in August to return to Indonesia, said 
that the atmosphere still clouded by the accusations against 
Singapore when civil war first broke out in Sumatra, had “cleared 
up”. An economic agreement was reached for Singapore to spin 
raw cotton supplied by Indonesia. During his visit in October, 
Dr. Subandrio, the Indonesian Foreign Minister, expressed his 
determination “to restore good relations between Indonesia and 
Singapore.” Provisional arrangements were made for the visit of 
Mr. Lee Kuan Yew to Indonesia early in 1960. In his Budget 
speech on 25th November the Minister for Finance said that “we 
of Singapore wish for nothing more than to see Indonesia over- 
come her economic difficulties and bring about these conditions 
under which honest traders can conduct their business on a stable 
and permanent basis.” He added: “We have made it abundantly 
clear to the Indonesian authorities that we wish for a new basis 
and a new approach to our mutual problems. Our relations with 
Indonesia have immensely improved since the advent of our 
Government. We shall continue our efforts to improve upon them. 
We have undertaken not to allow any action to proceed in Singa- 
pore which is directed against the security of the Indonesian State. 
This assurance we shall fulfil.” 


16 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


It was welcome that in Indonesia the new State first exercised 
its independent initiative in overseas commercial policy. The 
Deputy Prime Minister attended the Colombo Plan Conference in 
Djogdjakarta in October as head of an independent delegation for 
the new State. The State was similarly represented at the 
E.C.A.F.E. Conference in Bangkok the following month. 

The industrial policy of the Government accepted the basic fact 
that the primary responsibility for industrialisation must rest on 
private enterprise, while Government provided the economic setting 
for investment by local and overseas capital, preferably in partner- 
ship. 

Addressing the Chinese Chamber of Commerce on 8th August, 
Dr. Goh assured them of “full government” support in industrial 
development, adding: “The businessmen today must face up to 
certain social responsibilities which they can avoid under a 
Colonial system. In a democratic system, the paramount considera- 
tion of Government is the interest and well-being of the masses. 
The activities of businessmen must also be considered in its effect 
on the well-being of the masses. In a democratic system, business- | 
men are expected to conduct their affairs not only with the motive 
of profit in mind but also with the interest of society as an 
important consideration.” 

A bill was passed in August to allow government to raise a 
$100,000,000 Development Loan. When the new Government took 
office preparations for the Development Plan were immediately 
set in motion. An economic Development Board was also planned 
to act as an industrial bank and to carry out the planning and 
preparation of industrial sites. Approaches were made to United 
Nations Agencies for assistance in this major development. As a 
wider market would ease these developments, the project of the 
Common Commodity Market was broached with the Federation 
Government as a scheme of mutual advantage. 

Policy on Internal Security was enunciated when the Assembly 
passed the amended Preservation of Public Security Ordinance to 
replace the bill passed by the previous Assembly for a currency of 
one year. The major change was the replacement of the appeal 
tribunal by advisory committees to the Yang di-Pertuan Negara. 
The new bill was passed for a period of five years. There was no 
vote against it. The Prime Minister pointed out that the passing 
of the bill was in fulfilment of their pledge in the Assembly in 1958 
that “there will be no abolition of the Emergency laws in Singapore 
until they have been abolished in the Federation” and “as long as 


GENERAL REVIEW 17 


they are necessary for the Federation, so long will they be neces- 
sary for Singapore.” The Deputy Prime Minister, laid down the 
three principles of Government’s policy on internal security: 


‘““i) The Singapore Government shall not act as a buffer to 
protect pro-Communist Party forces against the 
Federation Government. These pro-Communist Party 
forces, some originally from the Federation and 
and some from Singapore, who are hoping to use 
Singapore as a refitting base for their struggle in the 
Federation must take the consequences of their 
actions. 


(ii) That it is the duty of the Singapore Government to 
defend in Singapore the rights of Left-Wing non- 
Communist Party forces and to encourage their 
growth. It is the P.A.P. Government’s view that the 
democratic socialist is the most effective countervail- 
ing force in the labour movement in this country, 
and that our policy is designed to aid the growth of 
the democratic socialist and not a Communist trade 
union movement. 


(i111) That while the Singapore Government shall by social, 
economic and political policies negate the Commu- 
nist claim that only the Communist can resolve the 
social and economic injustices in our society, it 
would in the meantime prevent the security of the 
democratic state from being undermined by the 
Communists.” 


The election of the new Government raised new expectations 
for the improvement of labour conditions and a new idiom in 
labour relations. These hopes coincided with an increase in un- 
employment, presenting the problem of an existing rate of 10 per 
cent in unemployment with new labour seeking employment on 
the labour market for the first time. In this situation the Ministry 
of Labour and Law extended its powers of inspection and enforce- 
ment to the full extent of the law to ensure that major agreements 
and welfare provisions were fully adhered to. 

Such a policy required the full co-operation of a fully and 
rationally organised trade union movement. Legislation was there- 
fore passed to allow the cancellation of the registration of company 
and ineffective and splinter unions. This included the move 
towards amalgamation or federation. 58 unions were de-registered. 


18 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The T.U.C. was re-organised under a new constitution to provide 
cohesive policy and steady leadership. While first importance was 
given to more equal and rational collective bargaining, as the 
prime instrument for industrial peace through justice, plans were 
made for the establishment of an Industrial Court, as a court of 
last resort once other means had failed. Industrial relations, as 
reflected in the figures for man-hours lost through strike, were at 
the best levels for the past five years. In August, the Singapore 
Traction Company Union chose an arbitration rather than a strike 
to settle their wage claims. In August a Court of Enquiry was set 
up under Dr. C. Gamba to enquire into the contract labour system 
in operation in Singapore and the abuses arising from it. 

In the field of Social Welfare, the Ministry of Labour and Law 
sought to widen its scope and its appeal to meet the needs of the 
new and predominantly Chinese-speaking citizens. The major 
change was to bring all Community Centres, formerly run by the 
Rural Board, the Singapore Improvement Trust and the Commu- 
nity Recreation Department, under the unified control of the 
Social Welfare Department so that they could act as a link 
between the Government and the people, serve as a focus for 
neighbourhood activities and provide a training ground for future 
leaders. 

The Government introduced immediately a more severe policy 
towards the licensing of places of amusement, the supervision of 
places such as “juke-box” and “pin-table” parlours which had be- 
come centres of vice, gathering places for secret society members 
and breeding grounds for delinquency among young people and 
unemployed. | 

Censorship of publications, films and entertainments was 
tightened up. On 8th June, three days after taking office, the 
Minister for Home Affairs banned 8 entertainment papers and one 
Strip-tease show as the first step in a policy of “eliminating sex- 
obsessed culture and all activities which are detrimental to the 
growth of a new and healthy society and culture.” New legislation 
was introduced for the control of hotels, massage establishments 
and gaming to meet secret society violence. The special detention 
powers were increased to provide an alternative of police super- 
vision on conditions, including a curfew, which if broken would 
result in a minimum punitive sentence of one year’s imprisonment. 
Before giving wide application to this last amendment, Govern- 
ment, in October, proclaimed a period of 16 days amnesty from 
16th November to allow those who had been drawn in secret 
society activities against their will, to come forward to the State 


GENERAL REVIEW 19 


Advocate-General, clear themselves and avoid further trouble. 
The large number of people who availed themselves of this offer, 
produced little evidence. The total number however of secret 
society incidents dropped from 234 in the first half of the year to 
168 in the second half compared with a total of 334 for 1958. 

The expansion of the medical services is reflected in the ex- 
penditure which reached $25 a year per head of the population, 
making a total of $37.5 millions. The standard of health in 
Singapore continued to rise during 1959 in spite of the rapid rise 
in the numbers and the growing density of population. The 
standard is shown by the record low levels of death rates. As 
against a rate of natural increase of 39.8 per thousand, one of 
the highest in the world, the death-rate reached the record low 
level of 6.4 per thousand compared with 7 per thousand in 1958. 
Infantile mortality also fell from 43.73 per thousand in 1958 to 
its lowest level at a rate of 36 per thousand. Maternal mortality 
fell from .8 per thousand in 1958 to .7 per thousand in 1959. For 
the third year running Singapore was free from indigenous 
malaria. 

To ensure that the State should become increasingly healthy, 
plans were introduced to decentralise the medical services, and 
to relieve the crowded congestion of the out-patient departments, 
as the attendances at the out-patient departments rose from 5,800 
per day in the first half of the year to 8,000 per day in the second 
half of the year; the total number of out-patient attendances were 
40 per cent higher than in 1958. To bring the nursing service yet 
closer to those whom they served, candidates for Chinese Middle 
III classes were recruited for General Nurses Training for the 
first time and Standard VII Malay girls were recruited for Assistant 
Nurse and Midwife training. 

Not only public health, but public amenities and public utilities 
improved. The new promenade on Nicholl Highway, the new park 
at Kallang and Hong Lim Green and beach-park at Bedok, pre- 
pared by volunteer labour as civic exercises guaranteed attractive 
open spaces in the centre of the towns. The services of the public 

utilities expanded. Singapore retains its reputation of having the 

cleanest public water supply in Asia, and consumption rose to 
63,000,000 gallons a day. 507 new stand-pipes were added to 
bring it to the kampongs, bringing the total to 2,046. Sales of gas 
and electricity increased. 96.6 miles of new electric cables were 
laid, a length nearly one-third more than the island’s total coast- 
line. There is one consumer for every 16 of the population. 


20 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


With its youthful population, Singapore requires to give special 
prominence to its problem of education. During the year the 
number of children in school increased by 28,000 to the record 
number of 320,977, and the cost of education rose to $63,000,000, 
almost 24 per cent of the annual budget of the State. The policy 
of the new government sought to increase the national content of 
the syllabus, both by changing the emphasis to languages and 
science, and by reform of text-books. In this policy which aimed 
at the growing integration and assimilation to national standards 
of the four streams of language in which education is given, there 
was to be a greater equality among the language streams. To allow 
the fullest and speediest development of this policy, the school 
week of English-language schools was extended to six days, 
bringing them into line with the practice of the Chinese-language 
schools, and from all teachers an extra half session a day was 
required. Special courses were organised at the Teachers’ Training 
College for training 1,500 teachers in the practice and teaching of 
Malay as the national language of the State. 

In July was published the report of the committee of which Dr. 
S. L. Prescott, Vice-Chancellor of the University of West Australia 
had been president and which had been set up by the previous 
government to consider the organisation and standards of the 
Nanyang University. The Committee advised against recognition 
of its degrees but suggested that standards of entry to the public 
service should be relaxed to allow the entry of some graduates 
to the public service. This suggestion was accepted by Govern- 
ment. The Committee also recommended the appointment of an 
ad hoc local committee to review their report and recommend 
the extent and procedure of re-organisation. This was agreed by 
government and the review Committee was set up under the 
Chairmanship of Dr. Gwee Ah Leng. Their report was submitted 
in November for the consideration of Government. The Poly- 
technic was re-organised to provide for a greater concentration 
of its resources on training the technical skills required by Singa- 
pore to standards and examinations which met the specific needs 
of Singapore. 

The new Ministry of Culture aimed to give a purposive national 
tone to its work both in the spheres of information and culture. 
Radio Singapore became a more constant positive means of keep- 
ing the people in touch with the policies of the government. Plans 
were made to break down the rigid division between the contents 
of the programmes in the four main language streams. And 


NATIONAL LOYALTY WEEK 


Min, of Culture 


Top—tinche Yusof bin Ishak was installed on 3rd December, 1959 as the first Malayan- 


born Yang di-Pertuan Negara as provided for in the Singapore Constitution. Picture 
shows His Excellency taking the Oath of Allegiance, while the Prime Minister, Mr. 
Lee Kuan Yew (left) and the Chief Justice of Singapore, Sir Alan Rose (right) look on. 


Bottom—After his installation, the Yang di-Pertuan Negara inspects a guard-of-honour 
formed by the Ist Battalion of the Singapore infantry Regiment. 








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GENERAL REVIEW 21 


programmes of the “rock and roll” type were replaced by pro- 
grammes of a higher level. The Ministry broke new and popular 
ground in taking its cultural concerts, Aneka Ragam Ra’ayat, to 
the people. The first was given at the Botanic Gardens on 2nd 
August. Each programme included items drawn from Malay, 
Chinese, Western and Tamil sources; many cultural groups had 
their first opportunity of public appearance and gave their talents 
as voluntary services in the new enthusiasm; while members of the 
audience who might have come each to see an item from the 
stream with which he was familiar, nevertheless stayed to see and 
appreciate others. It created an atmosphere of cultural neighbour- 
liness as the first and essential step to cultural citizenship and a 
sense of a common inheritance which is an essential element of 
nationalism. The enthusiam was harnessed in the cause of raising 
funds for a National Theatre Fund which was launched on 
20th November, and by the end of the year had passed the 
$200,000 mark. 

The year of revolutionary yet peaceful and constructive transi- 
tion from Colony to State ended appropriately with the celebrations 
which were focussed on the installation of Che Yusof bin Ishak 
as the first Malayan-born Yang di-Pertuan Negara. In this week 
were inaugurated the new symbols of the new State. The words 
and music of the new National Anthem Majulah Singapura— 
Let Singapore flourish—were written by a Singapore Malay, 
Che Zubir Said. The new flag is of red and white, incorporating a 
crescent moon and five stars, the red representing universal 
brotherhood and equality and the white purity and virtue and the 
five stars representing Democracy, Peace, Progress, Justice and 
Equality. The animal supporters of the armorial crest are the 
Singapore lion and the Malayan tiger. All burst on Singapore in 
lavish decoration for the day of the installation of the Yang di- 
Pertuan Negara which was the opening of the National Loyalty 
Week with its crowded programme. 

Sir William Goode, the last Governor and by the constitution, 
the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara, left on 2nd December with the 
words “You have many friends who wish you well; and none who 
will watch your progress with keener and more affectionate interest 
than those who have been happy to serve here in the past to the 
best of our ability”. The following day on the steps of the City 
Hall the Yang di-Pertuan Negara took his oath of office in the 
Chamber of the City Hall, and then with the Prime Minister on 
the City Hall Steps addressed the rally on the crowded Padang 
before they began their long and proud procession. The Prime 


22 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Minister in his speech introducing the Yang di-Pertuan Negara 
for the first time spoke of the urgent need for “inculcating common 
values, common loyalties, common responses” and for a “sense 
of belonging together, belonging to one entity”. He concluded “let 
us renew our faith in ourselves and our future; let us resolve to 
be loyal to the interests of our people; let us pledge ourselves 
afresh to make this island a happy and peaceful place of plenty 
for all those who have been born and bred here, together with all 
those who have sworn to be one with us. May our new symbols 
endure and evoke in our hearts those sublime feelings of dedica- 
tion and sacrifice to a cause bigger than our individual selves. 
Finally, let us give to our Yang di-Pertuan Negara the loyality 
and affection due to him as the symbol of the unity of the people 
who constitute the State of Singapore.” 

It was not only in full consciousness of the challenge but also 
of the urgency and magnitude of the problems ahead that the year 
ended. The envoi to 1959 was given by the Yang di-Pertuan 
Negara in his broadcast in the last hours of the year when he 
said, “The spirit of the new constitution means that while some 
may rightly or wrongly be tempted to blame the past for the 
problems we now face, yet our main task will be to see that 
these problems are resolved”’. 


* pad v/-3 a 
ests 

ted 

2 


Si ; 


~~ = 
ie 
ey? tnt 


4. 
{ \ 


Min, of Culture 
Top—Malam Raksaksa Rakyat (Grand Tattoo) at Jalan Besar Stadium, in which 
schools, Police, Civil Defence and Military personnel participated. Picture shows 
school children demonstrating precision exercises. 


Bottom—Sea Sports in the Inner Roads: Water skiiers showing their skill with the 
State flag fluttering proudly in the wind. 








a eve ne ee ae fe 


Min. of Culture 
rks displays alorng the waterfront. 


Bottom—Section of a crowd 


P—Mu, Top—Musica] floats, waterboat and firewo 












Il HISTORY AND 
ADMINISTRATION 


HISTORY 


OR TWO THOUSAND years and more merchants have sailed 

the seas of South-East Asia and have traded in the riches of 
one of the world’s most fertile areas. Trade went North to China 
and West to Ceylon and India and beyond to the Ancient World 
of the Mediterranean. Merchants were wealthy and ships were 
large. Malays, Indians, Chinese, Arabs and Greeks and Syrians all 
played their part in a trade mainly of luxuries. The Ancient Greeks 
knew of Malaya as the ‘Golden Chersonese’ of Peninsula, or more 
poetically as described by Periplus, the Greek geographer, ‘the 
last inhabited land beneath the rising sun itself.’ The routes and 
the trade winds across the Indian Ocean and the China Seas were 
known and used by navigators, merchants and pilgrims alike. 

In this trade Singapore at its focal turning point at the end of 
the Peninsula which is the most southerly point of Asia and at 
the entrance of the Straits of Malacca, the main arterial road of the 
trade with India, inevitably played its part. The early name of the 
island was Temasek which was known in contemporary China. 
But neither the Chinese pilgrim [-chang who visited South-East 
Asia in the seventh century nor later Marco Polo who sailed past 
the island in 1292 make specific mention of it, even in describing 
the landmarks of their journey. On the other hand, a legend says 
that an Indian king of Chola reached Temasek in the eleventh cen- 
tury before abandoning a projected attack on China. Singa-pura— 
the Sanskrit form of the “Lion City’-—however existed from 1297. 
It was described as one of the three kingdoms of the Sri Vijaya 
Empire and was appropriately situated for a control post by an 
empire which depended on exacting tolls on the trade which passed 
in the waters between Sumatra and Malaya. The Malay Annals 
describe it as ‘a great city to which foreigners resorted in great 
numbers so that the fame of the city and its greatness spread 
throughout the world.’ Based on Palembang, the Sri Vijaya Em- 
peror throve as long: as it could control and impose its levies on 


24 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


the trade of the area. The first king of Singapore was a Palembang 
Prince who, according to legend, gave the present name to the 
island. He reigned in peace but the Majapahit power in Java re- 
sented a port on the route to China not under their control, and 
during the reign of the second king Paduka Sri Pikrama Wira 
(1347-62) who refused to do homage, attacked Singapore, though 
unsuccessfully. In 1376, in the second year of the reign of the 
fourth ruler. Paduka Sri Maharaja, the Majapahit forces, as part 
of their final campaign against the Sri Vijaya dynasty, again attack- 
ed and this time successfully, aided by the disaffected Treasurer of 
Singapore. The measure of its size lies in the size of the fleet which 
attacked it and which, according to the Malay Annals, consisted 
of 300 ships and ‘countless galleys, commissariat craft and dug- 
outs, and a force of 200,000 fighting men.’ Legends too there are 
such as the one which attributes the red-ness of Singapore’s basic 
red laterite clay to the blood which was spilt in the destruction of 
the city. The city lost its status but was not fully abandoned. It 
continued under a chief, now described as Shahbandar or Port 
Officer, who for protection against the Majapahit, put himself under 
the protection of Siam, either directly or indirectly through Pahang. 
But the ruler was murdered and his power usurped by a rebel 
prince of Palembang, Paramaswera or Iskander Shah. He was ex- 
pelled by the Siamese forces in 1391 and finally settled in Malacca 
and founded the dynasty which was to replace the Sri Vijaya and 
Majapahit dominance in South-East Asia and was to foster the 
spread of the Muslim religion. When Raffles came to Singapore he 
could still see the moat and the base of the defence wall of the 
former Singapore; and there was at the mouth of the Singapore 
River a stone with an inscription not yet deciphered when the 
stone was dynamited to remove it as an obstruction to building. 
John Crawford, the Resident of Singapore, in his diary in 1822 said 
that the west and northern sides of the ‘forbidden Hill’ so called 
from the tombs of the kings buried there (and now Fort Canning 
Hill) were ‘covered with the remains of the foundations of build- 
ings, some composed of baked brick of good quality.’ Chinese 
coins, relics of the former trade with China, were also found. 
When, therefore, the first Portuguese ships came into the Malay- 
sian waters to add its merchants and ships to the already lively 
trade, Malacca was the port which attracted their attention, and 
Singapore played little part, even in the history of the Sultanate 
of Johore-Rhio which was played out in its area. But Singapore 
had given its title to the Straits which were sailed by more and 


HISTORY AND ADMINISTRATION 25 


more ships. A Dato Raja Negara remained in Singapore, first under 
the Bandaharas of Malacca, one of whom early in the eighteenth 
century offered Singapore to a British captain, Alexander 
Hamilton, and later under the court of Riau, as it was when Raffles 
came to Singapore. But the greatness and richness of its name and 
story lived on in history and from them Sir Stamford Raffles who 
was an assiduous and intelligent student of the Malay language and 
of Malay history and custom, learned of its ‘centrical and com- 
manding situation once occupied by the capitol of the most power- 
ful Malayan Empire then existing in the East.’ He had travelled 
the area himself and listened at every opportunity to traders’ tales 
of its ports and produce. He was therefore not creating but con- 
tinuing history when he turned to Singapore as the site for the 
Settlement-emporium he wished to set up as basis of Britain’s new 
policy of Free Trade in an area in which the Dutch were attempt- 
ing to enforce their monopolistic and mercantilistic control. Raffles 
had been Governor of Java when it was taken over by the British 
Government from the Dutch on the occupation of Holland by 
Napoleon, but, in the interests of its European diplomacy, Britain 
restored the Dutch position in Indonesia. Raffles was relegated to 
Bencoolen on the west coast of Sumatra; but that clearly was on 
the periphery of the area and did not meet Raffles’ ambition or 
what Raffles considered to be legitimate British interests. But the 
policy of friendship with Holland was paramount and the British 
Government would not under-write Raffles’ hopes. 

It was therefore, without specific instructions that Raffles sailed 
from Penang early in 1819 to seek his Emporium of the Southern 
Seas. His objective was clearly defined. “The Island of Singapore, 
independently of the Straits and harbours of Johore which it both 
forms and commands, has on its southern shores and by means of 
the several smaller islands which lie off it, excellent anchorage and 
smaller harbours, and seems in every respect most peculiarly adapt- 
ed for our objects. Its position in the Straits of Singapore is far 
more convenient and commanding than even Rhio, for our China 
trade passing down the Straits of Malacca, and every native vessel 
that sails through the Straits of Rhio must pass in sight of it.’ 

After surveying the Carimon Islands and deciding against them, 
Raffles sailed to Singapore and anchored off the mouth of the 
River on the 28th. On the 30th he signed a treaty with the Resident 
Temenggong, the de facto ruler, giving the right to establish a 
trading post. The treaty was renewed with both Sultan Hussein of 


26 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Johore and the Temenggong on 6th February. By the treaty the 
port was brought under British control. Raffles set up the establish- 
ment as a dependency of Fort Marlborough at Bencoolen of which 
he was Lieutenant Governor and appointed Major William 
Farquhar as Resident. Its purpose, he said, was to ‘secure the 
free passage of the Straits and protecting and extending commercial 
enterprises both of the British and the Native Merchants.’ 

But he had exceeded his instructions and London were critical 
of this ‘subordinate functionary of Fort Marlborough’ who upset 
harmony in Europe by creating European disharmony in Asia. 
But a decision to withdraw was as difficult as a decision to advance; 
and meanwhile the ‘ayes’ had it in the form of men and ships. 
In the final settlement with the Dutch in 1824, when Bencoolen 
was transferred to the Dutch and declining Malacca to the British 
Government, the British position in expanding Singapore was 
recognised. 


That he had found a prescription for commercial success was 
shown when within three weeks of his landing, on Ist March, Major 
Farquhar could report that ‘inhabitants are flocking in from every 
quarter.’ Singapore replaced Penang for the trade with the lands 
and islands to the East; and in November the Resident reported 
that trade had already opened with ‘Siam, Cambodia, Kelantan, 
Trengganu, Pahang, Borneo proper, Sambas, Pontianak, the 
Celebes, Rhio, Lingin, Siak, Indregris and Jambi.’ Ships trading 
with Chinese merchants made Singapore their stopping place, and 
the dominant textile trade both from India and from the new 
textile mills of the United Kingdom used Singapore as its chief dis- 
tributing centre. Trade reached a total value of $1,800,449 in its 
second complete year ending in April 1821 and $8,568,172 in the 
third year and $12,126,766 by 1825. Of the Settlements, only Singa- 
pore could balance its budget. The largest source of imports was 
from the immediate area and from India. It was already becoming 
the emporium or shopping centre of South-East Asia. 

On the return of Raffles to England in June 1823, Singapore 
ceased to be a dependency of Bencoolen; and Crawford, the second 
Resident became directly responsible to the Governor-General of 
the East India Company at Calcutta. But in 1826, Singapore was 
brought under the jurisdiction of the Government of the Penang 
Presidency. When as a measure of economy, under political pres- 
sure from the United Kingdom and from Calcutta it was 
decided to bring the three Straits Settlements under one Resident, 


HISTORY AND ADMINISTRATION 27 


it was not Penang whose trade had been eclipsed or Malacca 
taken over from the Dutch by treaty in 1824, but Singapore which 
was selected as the ‘most eligible centre of government’ because 
of “its increasing importance, its proximity to Java, as well as 
to those countries to the eastward from whence the great resort 
to the island principally arises.” 

The Straits Settlements remained under the control of the Gov- 
ernment of Bengal until 1867 when responsibility was transferred 
to the Colonial Office in London. This followed the transfer of 
British power in India from the East India Company to the British 
Government after the Indian Mutiny in 1853. Singapore merchants 
were already irked by the distant and increasingly unresponsive 
control from India. With the decline of trade and final abolition 
of the commercial monopoly of the East India Company which at 
least justified a commercial link with Singapore and with the de- 
clining part which Indian trade played in Singapore’s economy, 
the argument for a direct link became correspondingly weaker. Al- 
though the decision to transfer was made in 1860, the final details 
were not determined until 1866 and on 10th August of that year 
a Bill was passed in the British Parliament to approve the transfer, 
which became effective on 1st April, 1867. When with the increased 
pressure from merchant interests in Singapore and with the grow- 
ing pressures of competitive imperialisms in South-East Asia, the 
policy of intervention in the Malay States was inaugurated, Singa- 
pore became the centre of the British operation of that policy. 
And when the protectorates were established over the Federated 
and Unfederated Malay States, the title of High Commissioner for 
the Malay States was added to that of Governor of the Straits 
Settlements. 

More important than these constitutional changes were the 
changes in China which have constantly and ineluctably affected 
the development of Singapore since that time. First with the West- 
ern break-through into China confirmed by the establishment of 
Hong Kong, Singapore’s position on the high road to China was 
to increase its commercial and shipping importance. And with the 
opening of the Suez Canal in 1870, and the contemporaneous com- 
ing of the steamship and the opening of the international cable 
telegraph the importance of the Straits of Malacca as the busiest 
sea-highway in Asia and of Singapore’s position at its southern 
end was established, adding a new dimension to her focal position 
for the entrepdt trade of South-East Asia. 


28 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


But no less important though less well understood was the 
secondary effect of the Western impact on China in the Taiping 
rebellion which lasted from 1848-65. This reflected and exacerbat- 
ed the worsening conditions of the growing peasant population and 
led to the movement to the ports, to Swatow and Canton and 
Amoy, where, jobless and poverty-striken, they accepted the bully- 
ing and the blandishments of the emigrant brokers and sailed across 
the world to wherever the capital of the West sought the essential 
partnership of labour. It is from this time that Singapore became 
the centre of the distribution of Chinese labour throughout the 
British and Dutch territories, and in itself became predominantly 
a Chinese city, the commercial capital of the Nanyang Chinese who 
played a crucial part in the economic development of South-East 
Asia. It is from this time that there has been a constant and direct 
flow of migrants backwards and forwards still beating to the blood 
stream of China. Only by migration could the Chinese population 
be replaced and grow. This has been as crucial in the making of 
Singapore as the financial and commercial blood-stream beating to 
the heart of London. The agonies of national re-organisation and 
its special difficulties in China were reflected in Singapore: Chinese 
customs and problems were transferred. The immigrants being the 
most numerous section of the population in Singapore, they lived 
their own life according to their own ways. And, it should be added, 
even if it had been decided that they should acclimatise themselves 
culturally and socially, there was no ‘national’ pattern of living to 
which to conform. 

In the decade from 1850-60, the total population increased from 
52,891 to 81,734 and the proportion of Chinese from 53 to 61 per 
cent. The opening of the Suez Canal, the coming of the steamship, 
and the opening of the international telegraph in the 1870’s gave 
a further impetus to Singapore, now on the great international 
highway for the expanding trade with China and Japan. And with 
the growing output of Indonesia under the new Dutch policy of 
fuller control and more intensive development in Indonesia, Singa- 
pore was to become the distribution centre for its labour and its 
products. Population grew from 97,111 in 1871 to 139,208 in 1881, 
an increase of 43 per cent. This was a Singapore predominantly of 
men and of transient immigrants and with many of the attributes 
of a ‘frontier town’. 85.8 per cent of the total population, and 93.5 
per cent of the Chinese population were males. And thirty years 
later when the population had grown to 185,117, there were only 
21,462 women in Singapore: 76.5 per cent of the total and 82.4 


HISTORY AND ADMINISTRATION 29 


per cent of the Chinese population were men. In 1881, when the 
population was 139,208, only 9,527 had been born in Malaya, only 
8 per cent were under 16 years of age while 56 per cent were men 
between the ages of 21 and 45. In 1888, only 2,799 children were 
born in Singapore (including the first to be born in a hospital) as 
many as were born in 14 days in 1957. Of these babies the Malays 
exceeded the Chinese in number. On the other hand, life was hard 
and uncertain, the death rate was 45.3 per thousand with 39 per 
cent of the deaths in the age groups from 25-44; and the infantile 
mortality rate was 377.59 per thousand. The majority of deaths 
were either below the age of one or between the ages of 25 and 34. 
Malaria and cholera took their heavy toll. Hospital, education, and 
welfare services did not exist. In this atmosphere such problems 
as the secret society and opium were not unexpected. With a small 
proportion of women, there was no settled home basis for the 
people, and there was no future as represented by the children. 
Singapore expanded not through indigenous growth but through 
the constant flow of immigration which kept active the cultural and 
political trends of the countries from which the immigrants were 
drawn. But as the number of women immigrants grew and as more 
girls were born in Singapore, this disproportion declined. The 
number of settled families grew and the Straits-born group grew in 
number and self-consciouness. 

After the turn of the century, Singapore inaugurated the modern 
Malaya of tin and rubber. Finance, promotion and organisation 
were provided from Singapore which became the world centre of 
distribution of these commodities and whose port grew in order to 
handle the exports and the imports required by the expanding 
economies of South-East Asia. European processes of tin smelting 
were introduced in 1887. Rubber was successfully cultivated in 
Singapore and Perak in 1887; and H. M. Ridley, the Director of 
the Botanic Gardens in Singapore, proved the possibility of com- 
mercial cultivation and introduced the method of tapping rubber 
which enabled Malaya to meet the demand for rubber which came 
from the growth of the automobile and electricity technologies of 
the modern world. 

This led to a new and larger spurt in the growth of population in 
which growing immigration and the growing number of children 
born in Singapore re-enforced each other. Population increased from 
229,904 in 1901 to 311,303 in 1911, an increase of 35 per cent to 
be followed by an increase of 37.5 per cent in the following decade. 


30 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The movements of immigrants from China reflected both the con- 
ditions of civil war and peasant unrest in South China most affected 
by the political and economic problems of China, and on the other 
hand, the rise and fall of the rubber and tin economy of Malaya: 

Of decisive importance in the story of Singapore is the Aliens 
Ordinance of 1932. It was passed in the middle of the world slump 
which gravely affected Malaya and sought for the first time to con- 
trol immigration to Malaya by imposing a monthly quota—but 
only on men. The immigration of women was left uncontrolled. 
The effect is described in this way by Mr. W. L. Blythe in an 
article on “Chinese Labour in Malaya’: “There was no limit to the 
number of women who could enter Malaya. It was therefore to the 
advantage of the lodging-houses and ticket agents to encourage the 
emigration of women to take up these non-quota tickets. As a result, 
from 1933 onwards until May 1938, when a quota of 500 monthly 
was introduced for women, ship-loads of Cantonese women—mostly 
from Shun Tak and Tunk Kwun Districts—came to Malaya. Their 
ages ranged between 18 and 40 years. In the five years 1934-38 there 
was a migrational gain to Malaya of over 190,000 female Chinese 
deck passengers. The majority of these women were peasant 
women, workers who have entered the rubber and tin industries, the 
building industry and factories. They have settled here and many 
of them have married.’ | 

An immigration which had always been treated as temporary 
was on the way to becoming permanent. The new immigrants mar- 
ried in Singapore, and their children were born in Singapore, and 
became automatically by law citizens of the territoriy. The instincts 
of home and the outlook to the future symbolised by the children 
turned Malaya-wards and family ties with Malaya were to challenge 
family ties with China and India. The Japanese occupation which 
froze migration, and which made Malaya the country for which 
the people suffered, confirmed this inward-looking trend. The 
Singapore Fortress had fallen to the Japanese on 12th February, 
1942, and remained under Japanese occupation until 5th Septem- 
ber, 1945, when the forces of South-East Asia Command under 
Lord Louis Mountbatten recovered Singapore after the defeat of 
the Japanese in Burma by his forces and the over-all surrender of 
the Japanese Government after the bombing of Hiroshima. 

Until 31st March, 1946, administration was taken over by the 
British Military Administration which, anticipating the future 
separation of Singapore from Peninsular Malaya, treated Singapore 
as a Separate unit. But it was a different Singapore to which the 


HISTORY AND ADMINISTRATION 31 


British regime was restored. The recovery of Britain never erased 
the effect on British prestige of the defeat in the Battle of Malaya; 
with British protection withdrawn, the people had to face their 
own individual problems and make their own decisions during the 
Japanese occupation; many had greater responsibilities under the 
occupation and could measure their own abilities and experience 
against that of previous colonial administrators. The freedom 
restored after the Japanese occupation was social and economic 
as well as political and would not confine itself to a restoration of 
the status quo ante. Sacrifices had established new bases for rights. 
The part played by the guerillas, who had mainly been Chinese 
and Communists, raised the issues of the place of the Chinese in 
the new Malaya, and raised the question of the economic pattern 
of the new Malaya. Finally the rehabilitation of Singapore was 
a joint endeavour in which all races played their part. The new 
Singapore reflected a very different balance of power and ability 
than that of pre-war Singapore. The new climate in Asia represented 
by Nehru in India and Soekarno in neighbouring Indonesia set 
a new political climate, while the bitter conflict of K.M.T. and Com- 
munist in China reflected itself among the China-born community 
in Singapore who were directly and emotionally involved in the 
dispute. While, therefore, the aim of British policy was a grad- 
ual and educational transfer of power, it thought mainly in terms 
of the Straits-born group, who alone had citizenship rights at the 
time. It under-estimated the more intense and increasingly Malaya- 
directed activity of those more recently and directly influenced by 
events—natural and ideological—in China. The dynamic and direc- 
tion of this group was given less by the non-citizen parents and 
more by their children in the Chinese-language schools who were 
potential full citizens by birth and whose political actions did not 
-wait the adult achievement of the political power of the vote they 
would inherit at the age of 21. 

British policy for Singapore was outlined in a White Paper which 
‘was laid before the British Parliament in January 1946 and set 
‘out the policy for a Malayan Union on Peninsular Malaya. Singa- 
pore was, in consequence, to become a separate Colony, but, it was 
added, it was ‘no part of the policy of His Majesty’s Government 
to preclude or prejudice in any way the fusion of Singapore and 
the Malayan Union in a wider union at a later date should it be 
considered that such a course were desirable’. In confirmation of 
this attitude, three proposals were made; first, common arrange- 
‘ments between the Malayan Union and Singapore on matters of 


32 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


common concern; secondly, a joint ‘Malayan Union Citizenship’ 
for which residents of the Malayan Union and Singapore would be 
eligible; and thirdly, the appointment of a Governor-General with 
powers of co-ordination and direction. 

Civil Government was restored on Ist April, 1946. The Straits 
Settlements ceased to exist constitutionally. Penang and Malacca 
were merged with the nine Malay States in the Malay Union, and 
Labuan was incorporated, after a further period of military admin- 
istration, in North Borneo in July. The separation of Singapore was 
the result of two forces; first, the growing importance of the Singa- 
pore base and the special political problems which it raised; and 
secondly, as the Malayan Union had reduced the powers and status 
of the Sultans, and had given greater citizenship rights to the 
Chinese, it was felt that the Malayan Union would be more accept- 
able to the Malays if the predominantly Chinese and more political- 
ly active Singapore were temporarily given separate status. But 
even when the success of U.M.N.O. and the opposition of the 
Sultans to the Malayan Union led to the decision to replace the 
Malayan Union and restore the position of the Malays in a new 
Federation, gave the opportunity for re-consideration, the separa- 
tion of Singapore was not, in fact, reconsidered. 

On the restoration of civil government all constitutional powers 
lay with the Governor, Mr. Franklin Gimson, but the Order in 
Council of 27th March, 1946 which established Singapore as a 
separate Crown Colony, provided for a provisional advisory coun- 
cil pending the establishment of an Executive and a Legislative 
Council with a membership which would ‘ensure full and effective 
representation of the various sections of the community.’ The 
Royal Instructions to the Governor on the same day enjoined the 
‘minimum of delay’ in creating this constitution. On 11th April, 
at the first meeting of the Advisory Council which had seven 
official and ten unofficial members, all nominated, a committee was 
set up to recommend the form of the Legislative Council. In its 
report submitted on 8th August, 1946, it recommended that of 
the nine elected members, three should be elected severally by the 
three Chambers of Commerce, and the remaining six by popular 
election from two two-member constituencies in the municipal area 
and two one-member constituencies in the rural area. The com- 
mittee decided against communal electorates because ‘the whole 
aim of the new constitutional proposals is to build a sense of com- 
mon political responsibility among the citizens of Singapore.’ 


HISTORY AND ADMINISTRATION 33 


Those eligible to vote would be citizens of the U.K. and the 
Colonies, over 21 years of age and of one year’s residence in 
Singapore. There would be no disqualification on grounds of sex, 
literacy or property. Registration would be voluntary. These pro- 
posals were incorporated in the Legislative Councils Elections 
Ordinance passed in July 1947. The final form of the Council had 
been announced in May 1947 by the Secretary of State for the 
Colonies. It would include, under the Presidency of the Governor, 
the four ex-officio members, (the Colonial Secretary, the Financial 
Secretary, the Attorney-General and the President of the Municipal 
Commissioners), five nominated officials, four nominated un- 
Officials, and the nine elected members. While, therefore, the 
Officials were in a minority, the nominated members formed the 
majority, assuring legislation and finance to a government of per- 
manent and politically irremovable administrators. 

Electors were registered from 16th August to 26th September, 
1947. The Malayan Democratic Union, the only organised political 
group at the time, decided to boycott the registration and the elec- 
tion, thus abandoning the opportunity the new Council would have 
given them of stimulating political interest and shaping ideas along 
the national and democratic lines of their policy. The beginning of 
the Emergency in June 1948 and the restrictions on public politic- 
al activity which followed denied them a second chance. 

Singapore’s first elections were held on 20th March, 1948, 13,458 
of the 22,395 electors casting their votes. Of the six members 
elected from the territorial constituencies, three were members of 
the Progressive Party. The Legislative Council was inaugurated on 
Ist April, 1948. In spite of the heavy official majority, the work 
of the Council taught parliamentary procedures not only to the 
members, but to the public through the Press reports of the debates. 
At this time the ten members of the Executive Council whose func- 
tions were purely advisory were nominated; and control of the 
Civil service, including appointments and promotions was centred 
on the Colonial Secretary and through him on the Governor who 
held the final responsibility. In anticipation of the triennial elec- 
tion in 1951, the Legislative Council on 21st March, 1950, resolved 
to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies to add three more 
popularly elected members to their numbers. This request, along 
with the right to appoint a Deputy President who would be an 
unofficial member, was agreed to in the Order in Council of 21st 
December, 1950. The thirteen ex-officio and nominated members, 
even without the votes of the President, retained their majority 


34 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


over the 12 elected members. The electoral register continued to 
be based on voluntary registration and electors had reached the 
number of 48,155 before the 1951 election. 

The second general election was held in March 1951. Twenty- 
two candidates contested the nine seats. 52 per cent of the electors 
voted. Of the nine popularly elected members, six were members 
of the Progressive Party and two were members of the Labour 
Party which also, at a bye-election, won a third seat when the 
Independent member elected in the general election vacated her 
seat. Both parties were non-communal. The constitution had been 
amended to allow the election by the unofficial members of two 
of their number to sit on the Executive Council. Both were Progres- 
sives. The Governor announced that should all the unofficial mem- 
bers of the Executive, now increased to six out of a total member- 
ship of 12, vote against him he would not make use of his reserve 
powers except in situations where as President of the Legislative 
Council, he would have to make use of them. Throughout this 
period, the ex-officio and nominated members of the Council were 
in the majority, but if there was to be a further increase of the 
elected members to 15, bringing the total membership up to 29, 
the official government could not guarantee control of the Council 
and ensure the essential legislation and finance of government. It 
became necessary, therefore, to imtroduce responsible cabinet 
government if progress towards self-government were to continue. 
The reports of two Committees of the Legislative Council on con- 
stitutional and electoral reform which had recommended an in- 
crease membership of the Council and in the electorate were too 
restricted by their terms of reference, to meet the need for change. 
The life of the sitting Council was extended for one year and a 
Commission was set up in 1953 to make recommendations for 
the new constitution. Apart from the Chairman, Sir George Rendel, 
after whom the constitution was named, all other eight members 
were drawn from the Legislative Council, five chosen by the Un- 
official members and three by the Governor. 

The Commission made its report in February 1954. Apart from 
the minority proposal of a second legislative house, the substance 
of the Commission’s report was accepted by the Secretary of State 
for the Colonies, and formed the basis of the constitution set out 
in the Order in Council made on Ist February, 1955. The basic 
electoral qualification continued to be citizenship of the U.K. and 
the Colonies but as only some 25 per cent had taken the initiative 
to register they would now be automatically registered from: the 


With the coming into operation of the Singapore Constitution on 3rd June, 

1959, Singapore achieved full internal self-government after 140 years of 

British rule. External defence and external affairs except in cultural and com- 

mercial matters are still within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom 
Government. 


Straits Times 


The Legislative Assembly has 51 members. The Cabinet of 9 Ministers are selected 
from members of the Assembly. Picture shows the opening of the first session of the 
Assembly on Ist July, 1959. 





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HISTORY AND ADMINISTRATION 35 


data included in the counterfoils for identity cards. This brought 
the total electorate from 75,000 to 300,292, giving predominance 
to the Chinese-educated and increasing the women’s vote from 8 
to 50 per cent. The Chamber of Commerce representation and the 
nomination of officials were dropped. Each of the 25 constituencies 
into which the island was divided would return one member. The 
Chief Secretary, the Financial Secretary and the Attorney-General 
would be ex-officio members. The remaining four members would 
be nominated by the Governor at his absolute discretion. A Speaker 
nominated by the Governor would preside. Responsible to this 
Assembly would a Council of Ministers presided over by the 
Governor, and including as members, the three ex-officio members 
of the Assembly, and six unofficial members of the Assembly only 
one of whom could be a nominated member. Each Minister had his 
separate portfolio. The reserved powers of the Governor remained: 

The old Supreme Court, Singapore’s oldest building was recon- 
structed as the Assembly House and was opened on 7th July, 1954. 
Later in the year, Sir George E. N. Oehlers was selected for 
appointment as Speaker. In anticipation of the substantial increase 
in the electorate and the substantial powers which would lie 
with the new Government, new parties were formed towards 
the end of 1954 to challenge the position of the Progressive 
Party. A coalition of left-wing and Trade Union groups formed 
the Labour Front, and the P.A.P. was formed on a platform of 
socialism and anti-colonialism. Early in 1955, the Chinese Cham- 
ber of commerce decided to enter politics and formed the Demo- 
cratic Party to challenge the Progressive Party. Both the U.M.N.O. / 
M.C.A. and the Singapore Malay Union fought separately. The 
Malays as well as the Right and Left Wing groups were therefore 
divided. In order to allow as much electoral activity as the con- 
tinuing Emergency situation. allowed, the police restrictions on 
public meetings were relaxed. 

The last colonial-type Legislative Council was dissolved on Sth 
February. After an excited but orderly campaign, the election was 
held on 2nd April, 1955. Seventy-nine candidates—69 representing 
Six parties, and ten independents—contested the 25 seats. 53 per 
cent of the electorate voted—6} times the number who had voted 
in 1951. The outcome of the election brought a majority of Assem- 
blymen to the Left-Wing parties, the Labour Front, with 26.3 per 
cent of the votes, won ten seats and the P.A.P. won three of the four 
seats they contested, with clear majorities, making 13 out of the 


36 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


25. The Democratic Party split the votes of the Progressive Party. 
Although both together polled 44.1 per cent of the total votes, the 
Progressives won four seats and the Democrats two. These two 
groups were later to combine to form the Liberal Socialist Party. 
The Labour Front under Mr. David Marshall, as the largest single 
party, was asked to form a government. They did so in alliance 
with the three members of U.M.N.O./M.C.A./S.M.U. Alliance and 
with the addition of two Labour Front members nominated by the 
Governor. These with the three ex-officio members constitutionally 
required to support the Government gave the Government 18 votes 
in the Assembly of 32. The Speaker had no vote. Singapore’s first 
ministers were sworn in on 7th April, 1955. 

The events of 1955 were to prove the substance of the break-out 
from the Emergency regulations and the break-through to condi- 
tions in which the dynamic and direction of future movements 
would be determined in Singapore. Led by the Singapore Shop and 
Factory Workers’ Union there was a resurgence of trade union 
activity after the enforced inactivity since the outbreak of the Emer- 
gency. This not only brought new membership and new success in 
wage increases, but growing political challenge to the Colonial 
Government in its final phase, even to the extent of defiance and 
violence. 

The Labour Front Government set up a Commission on the 
Malayanisation of the Public Service, the public sessions of which 
spelled out the practical implications of the changing pattern of 
power in Singapore. Mr. David Marshall, the Chief Minister, seizing 
on the issue of the refusal of the newly-arrived Governor, Mr. 
Robert Black, to accept his proposals for four Assistant Ministers, 
he persuaded the Assembly in August 1955 to vote for an imme- 
diate advance to self-government. The dispute was referred to the 
Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Alan Lennox-Boyd, during 
his visit to Singapore in September 1955 during a tour of South- 
East Asia, and he agreed that the Governor’s discretion in accept- 
ing the advice of the Chief Minister under the constitution should 
be withdrawn except in the case of proroguing and dissolving the 
Assembly. He also agreed that an All-Party Mission should go, 
ahead of the anticipated time-table, to London in April 1956 after 
one year’s experience of the working of the Constitution, to con- 
sider amendments to allow further substantial progress towards self- 
government. In preparation for the visit of the Mission, a Mass 
Signature Campaign and a Mass Rally were organised to demon- 
strate Singapore’s eagerness and readiness for advance, and, at the 


HISTORY AND ADMINISTRATION 37 


invitation of the Singapore Government, an All-Party delegation 
from the House of Commons visited Singapore in March 1956 to 
make their own assessment of the situation. Following meetings of 
members of all the elected groups in the Assembly, the Legislative 
Assembly on Sth April defined their brief: ‘to seek forthwith for 
Singapore the status of an Independent Territory within the Com- 
monwealth and to offer an agreement between the United Kingdom 
Government and the Singapore Government whereby the United 
Kingdom would exercise control over external defence and give 
guidance in foreign affairs other than trade and commerce... | 
The Constitutional Mission, consisting of thirteen Assemblymen 
representative of all parties in the Assembly, took part in discus- 
sions in London from 23rd April to 15th May, 1956. There was a 
large area of agreement—the Colony would become the State of 
Singapore: the elected membership of the Assembly would be 
doubled and the official and nominated element be eliminated: the 
Prime Minister would preside over the Council of Ministers which 
would consist entirely of elected Assemblymen: Malayanisation of 
the Civil Service; a separate Singapore citizenship within the Com- 
monwealth similar to that of a fully-governing member. The 
practical point on which negotiation broke down was the power of 
the United Kingdom Government to intervene unilaterally by 
Order in Council where it would be unable otherwise to carry out 
its responsibilities for external defence and external affairs. A last 
minute attempt by the Chief Minister on his own responsibility to 
re-open negotiation on the bases of laying any Orders in Council 
before Parliament, of the appointment of a Malayan Governor- 
General and the transfer of ministerial responsibility in the U.K. 
from the Colonial Office was not sustained by the delegation. 
Following the failure of the talks, Mr. David Marshall resigned 
his post as Chief Minister on 6th June and two days later Mr. 
Lim Yew Hock was sworn in as Chief Minister with the same 
group of Ministers and the same policy. The change of govern- 
ment reflected no change of public mood, particularly among the 
politically active trade union and leftiest elements who still sought 
to set the political pace. There were stay-in strikes at the Chinese 
Middle schools against the authority of schools and government 
alike. Police action to clear the schools were resisted and the schools 
received the support of the Shop and Factory Workers Union. As 
a result of the rioting which followed, a curfew was imposed from 
26th October to 2nd November, and the leaders of both groups 
were detained under the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance. 


38 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


These events had established the fact that the next two years were 
to be years of constitutional preparation for the next and now 
accepted step towards self-government and of political preparations 
to decide which party with which leadership and which policy 
could achieve the reconciliation of the forces, whose divergence 
had so far been illustrated, in an agreed pace and direction of 
policy. | 

In February 1957 All-Party preparations for a renewed approach 
to the Colonial Office began. Agreement was reached on the special 
position of the Malays, and, on Sth March, the All-Party Mission 
were ‘instructed’ by the Legislative Assembly to ‘secure from Her 
Majesty’s Government for the people of Singapore the status of a 
self-governing state with all the rights, powers and privileges there- 
to appurtenant in all internal affairs and the control of trade, com- 
~ merce and cultural relations in external affairs.’ It was also agreed 
that the general election promised for 1957 should be postponed 
to allow the introduction of Singapore Citizenship and the widening 
of the electoral register which would follow. The All-Party Mission 
to London consisted of Mr. Lim Yew Hock and Mr. Chew Swee 
Kee for the Labour Front and Che Abdul Hamid bin Haji Jumat 
for the U.M.N.O., Mr. Lee Kuan Yew for the P.A.P. and Mr. Lim 
Choon Mong for the Liberal Socialists. After the talks, which lasted 
from 11th March to 11th April, agreement was reached with the 
Colonial Office, the proposal of an Internal Security Council re- 
solving the fundamental disagreement over internal security. One 
discordant note remained in the unilateral insistence of the Secre- 
tary of State for the Colonies that those who had been detained 
under the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance should not be 
eligible for membership of the first Legislative Assembly under 
the new constitution, a provision ‘noted with regret’ by the delega- 
tion. Mr. Marshall’s back-bench opposition to the agreement led 
to the resignation of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and Mr. Marshall from 
the Assembly. Mr. Marshall retired from politics but Mr. Lee 
Kuan Yew fought a bye-election on the issues involved in the 
agreement and was successfully returned by his constituency. The 
P.A.P. leadership in August surmounted an extremist attempt with- 
in the party to replace them, and their policy of an ‘independent, 
democratic, Socialist non-Communist Malaya.’ 

The groundwork of advance was also laid in the implementa- 
tion of the Malayanisation policy and the passing of the citizenship 
legislation. A new Public Service Commission with executive 
powers was set up in January 1957, and they appointed Malayans 





GENERAL ELECTIONS 


On 30th May, 1959 the 
citizens of Singapore 
went to the polls to elect 
their representatives to 
the first fully elected 
Legislative Assembly. 
Voting was compulsory 
and the vote was secret. 
Of the total electorate 
for the 51 constituencies 
of 587,797, 527,919 per- 
sons voted. 


Right—Advance 
publicity 


Bottom—At the polling 
station 


Min. 





of Culture 


ie 














FOLLY 


7 


si oo be ‘ui 


ap a « +) % 


ve, Ay 
; 


Min. of Culture 
Top—In the queue... 


Bottom—Choosing the candidate... 





HISTORY AND ADMINISTRATION 39 


to replace the expatriates as Permanent Secretaries to all Ministries. 
The Citizenship Bill, which was passed on 16th October, established 
the new Singapore Citizenship not only for those born in Singa- 
pore but for citizens of the United Kingdom and the Colonies 
of two years’ residence and others of eight years’ residence. Re- 
gistration was carried out from Ist November, 1957 to 31st January, 
1958. During this period 325,000 new citizens were created, brmging 
for the first time the majority of the resident adults on to the regis- 
ter of citizens and later of electors, and establishing the Chinese- 
educated as the majority of the electorate who would determine the 
outcome of the coming general election. 

With the passing of the Education Bill in November 1957, after 
six months’ gestation in the Legislative Assembly, the final legis- 
lative steps were taken to make the Chinese schools equal part- 
ners within a national system of education and so remove the 
isolation and frustration which had been a major obstacle to the 
unity which was essential to any stability of political progress. 

The constitutional developments were not considered in isolation 
but for the importance of leaving the way open to full association 
with the Federation was constantly in mind. This was publicly ex- 
pressed in the message from the Legislative Assembly on 21st 
August, 1957 to the Federation Government on the achievement 
of Merdeka. It spoke of the ‘prime interest of both peoples to 
merge into a single political unit within which, as one people with 
one outlook and purpose, all may share the joy and fruits of that 
happy state of Merdeka,’ and concluded: “We of Singapore look 
forward to that day when our strength will be added to your 
strength and our separation will be ended; and we can proudly go 
forward together to make our joint contribution in human welfare, 
economic prosperity and political strength to the great and distinc- 
tive service of Asia to the modern world.—Merdeka.’ 

In December 1957 were held the elections for the first fully- 
elected City Council. The elections for the three parallel rural dis- 
trict Councils were postponed. The City Council election was a 
keen one. The electorate had increased in number from the 50,000 
of the 1953 elections for the partly elected Council to the 500,294 
which included residents without citizenship qualifications and re- 
presented the largest electorate up to that time. Eighty-one candi- 
dates contested the 32 seats. The P.A.P. won the largest number 
of seats, 13 out of the 14 they contested, the remaining 17 being 
divided between four parties and two Independents. Mr. Ong Eng 


40 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Guan, the leader of the P.A.P. in the City Council and the Party 
Treasurer, was elected as the first and as it was to prove the only, 
Mayor of Singapore. Not only a new party but a new popular 
idiom and a new generation had taken over the fully-elected City 
Council. It was the first P.A.P. experience of power and the first 
public demonstration of fully representative government. It also 
defined in practice the need to find a balance between political 
enthusiasm and administrative efficiency both of which were in 
public demand to meet public needs. None of these problems, how- 
ever, were to be resolved at local government level, but the lessons 
were relevant for, and were to be applied in, the State government 
of the future. 
- During 1958 the final steps were taken towards self-government. 
Citizenship registration ended at the end of January. The All-Party 
Mission with the same membership as in 1957 went to London 
in April 1958 and signed the final agreement on 28th May. The 
general pattern of the constitution now firmly including the Internal 
Security Council was finally adopted, the Federation Government 
having confirmed their readiness to play their part. Special em- 
phasis was laid in the Preamble to the constitution on the obliga- 
tion to protect minority interests and particularly those of the 
Malays as the indigenous people of Malaya. The State of Singapore 
Bill enabling the new constitution to be promulgated passed 
smoothly through the U.K. Parliament and received the Royal 
Signature on Ist August; and the Constitution Order in Council 
was finally laid before Parliament on 27th November. 
Meanwhile, the party alinements crystallised out for the coming 
election. On his return at the end of June from the constitutional 
talks in London, Mr. Lim Yew Hock publicly proposed a United 
Socialist Front. During a City Council bye-election in the Kallang 
constituency, the Liberal Socialists offered to support a Labour 
Front candidate against the P.A.P. candidate. In spite of this com- 
bined opposition the P.A.P. won the seat. This united the opposi- 
tion in City Council and the heightened temperature led to two 
attempts by the Mayor to persuade the Council to dissolve itself. 
In November, the Singapore People’s Alliance was formed from 
members of the Labour Front, Liberal Socialists and Workers 
Party, though each party continued its independent existence and 
was to fight the 1959 election. In the Legislative Assembly in 
December, four Liberal Socialist Assemblymen joined the Govern- 
ment benches, giving the Government a majority of members for 








Min. of Culture 


Top—Casting the 


Bottom—Offt to the count. 





eo, 


f=9 *%- se *, 








i met to ‘~ 


ays —) 
f Ie. gan ere . 





Victory smiles. 





HISTORY AND ADMINISTRATION 4] 


the first time. Meanwhile, the P.A.P. was re-organised on a 
cadre basis and its policy was re-defined in an Anniversary Sou- 
venir spelling out the detailed implications of its policy of an in- 
dependent, democratic Socialist non-Communist Malaya. 

During 1958, a number of Bills such as the Immigration Bill 
and a series of bills to encourage indigenous industrialisation, were 
passed in conformity with the new status the new constitution 
would confer. The P.P.S.O. was renewed for one year to allow the 
new government under the new constitution to take a new look at 
the problem of internal security and the powers required by the 
new state to maintain it. The most outstanding event in the public 
mind was the ceremonial opening of the Nanyang University on 
30th March towards which taximen and trishaw drivers and hawk- 
ers, aS well as towkays, had made their contribution in good faith. 
Legislative recognition was given and the first steps taken to set 
up an international commission to assess the quality of the degrees 
the new University would confer. | 

If then Singapore at the end of 1958 was looking inward and 
forward rather than outward and backward, it was nevertheless knit- 
ting up the skeins of its history for with the passing of the Citizen- 
ship Bill and the new powers of citizenship under the new con- 
stitution, the ground was set for a major experiment of fusion 
of races and cultures, in circumstances unique in modern history 
and of significance throughout South-East Asia. 


THE ADMINISTRATION 


The Civil Service 


The new P.A.P. Government was sworn into office on Sth 
June, 1959. The nine Cabinet members and the portfolios are as 
follows: 


Mr. Lee Kuan Yew .... Prime Minister. 

Dr. Toh Chin Chye ... Deputy Prime Minister. 

Mr. Ong Eng Guan ... Minister for National Development. 
Inche Ahmad bin Ibrahim ... Minister for Health. 

Dr. Goh Keng Swee .... Minister for Finance. 

Mr. K. M. Byrne ... Minister for Labour and Law. 
Mr. S. Rajaratnam .... Minister for Culture. 

Mr. Ong Pang Boon ... Minister for Home Affairs. 


Mr. Yong Nyuk Lin ... Minister for Education: 


42 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


- The Government directly employs a total of about 30,000 persons 
in its service. In additjon, there are about another 2,700 who are 
On pension. 

Government employees are classified into four divisions. Divis- 
ion I includes the administrative and professional grades; Divjsions 
II and III the executive, clerical and technical grades; and Division 
IV consists mainly of manual workers. These are all monthly-paid 
employees but there is, in additjon, a large number consisting 
mainly of manual workers employed on public works who are paid 
at daily rates. The daily rated employees make up about one-third 
of the total number of Government employees. 

For most of the grades in Government service, there are 
approved Schemes of Service and appointments and promotions 
are made in accordance with these schemes. Except for the daily 
_ rated employees, all appointments and promotions are made on 
the advice of the Public Service Commission constituted under the 
Singapore (Constitution) Order in Council, 1958. The Chairman 
and four other members of the Commission are appointed by the 
Yang di-Pertuan Negara acting in his discretion after consultation 
with the Prime Minjster. Appointments and promotions in the 
daily rated employees’ grade are made in accordance with the Code 
of Wages and Conditions of Service of Daily Rated Employees. 

During the year ending 1959, the Public Service Commission 
advised on appointments and promotions jn respect of 2,634 vacan- 
cies in Divisions I, II, III and IV. A total of 201 candidates were 
interviewed for 187 posts in the senior grades which included all 
vacant posts in Division I and 18,804 applications were considered 
for appointments to Divisions II, II and IV. The Commission 
also advised on proposals to amend existing Schemes of Service, 
on acting and temporary appointments and on disciplinary action 
with respect to public servants. Advice as to disciplinary action 
against 113 serving officers was sought leading to 85 of these being 
subsequently dismissed or otherwise punjshed. 


Re-organisation 


In the interests of increased administrative efficiency, the Govern- 
ment decided to set up an Organisation and Methods Branch, with- 
in the Ministry of Finance, to examjne questions of methods of 
working and organisation in Government departments and, on the 
basis of such examination, to advise on the re-organisation of these 
departments. 


HISTORY AND ADMINISTRATION 43 


. This new branch was set up in the middle of the year with the 
assistance of two Organisation and Methods officers from the 
United Kingdom Civil Service. Three other local Civil Service 
officers were given appropriate training and, with this staff, the 
Organisation and Methods Branch settled down to its survey and 
advisory tasks. 

Although the ‘branch works only at the request of departmental 
heads, and even then only in an advisory capacity, a willingness 
has been shown to make use of the service and to accept the 
recommendations made. A supervision of the many types of forms 
used by Government departments has been instituted and the 
Branch is accepting increasing responsibility as a consulting author- 
ity on questions of office machinery and equipment. 

Despite its comparatively recent establishment as a proposed 
permanent feature of the machinery of Government, the Organisa- 
tion and Methods Branch received sufficient ‘orders’ by the end 
of 1959 to keep it busy for many months into 1960 and from the 
enquiries received by the Branch, this state of affairs seems likely 
to persist. 


Malayanisation 

The Malayanisation Policy continued to be applied throughout 
the year. This Policy was implemented with effect from Ist 
January, 1957, in accordance with the recommendations contained 
in a White Paper (No. Cmd. 65/56) which was approved by the 
Legislative Assembly in December 1956. 

Expatriate officers continued to retire at a rate higher than anti- 
cipated but suitably qualified local officers have been found to 
replace them in the majority of cases. On the whole, the im- 
plementation was carried out smoothly and successfully. 


Staff Training 

An important resultant of the Malayanisation Policy is the need 
to obtain the services of suitably qualified and experienced local 
persons, especially in senior, professional and technical posts. To 
facilitate the speedy implementation of this declared policy of 
replacing expatriate officers with local men and women, a pro- 
gramme of staff training was originally instituted. 

This programme of staff training continued to be effective 
throughout 1959. However, apart from the usual fellowship, 
scholarship and training courses undertaken by officers, a new. 


44 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


feature of staff training was the setting up of a Political Study 
Centre. 

The Political Study Centre was inaugurated on 15th August, 
1959 by the Prime Minister who defined its purpose in his opening 
speech: 

The purpose of this Study Centre is not only to stimulate your minds 
but also to inform you of the acute problems which confront any 
popularly elected Government in a revolutionary situation. Most of 
these are problems that face the whole region. Once the problems have 
been posed to you, you will be better able to help us work out the 


solutions to them, by making the administration more sensitive and 
responsive to the needs and mood of the people. 


~The courses themselves were part-time with officers attending 
in the afternoons from 2.15 p.m. to 6.15 p.m. after a normal morn- 
ing of work in the office. A standard syllabus was used for each 
of these courses and it attempted to analyse the political, economic 
and social problems facing a self-governing Singapore. It also 
attempted to describe the main streams of political thought and 
to discuss the developments of the national movements in Asian 
countries and the problems of the Asian Revolution. Periods 
were also set aside for discussions and for the preparation and read~- 
ing of seminar papers. 

_ Housed at No. 4 Goodwood Hill, the Study Centre is headed 
by a Director, who is a Civil servant, and is provided with lecture 
and seminar rooms, a reading room and a library. It opened its 
doors to the first course for Civil servants on 17th August, 1959 
with an enrolment of 19 students. This first course lasted for two 
weeks but subsequent courses were of 17 days duration each. 

_ By the end of the year five separate courses, in sequence, had 
been conducted with a total of 115 officers from 33 different depart- 
ments attending. Officers came from Division I and Superscale 
grades and were drawn from all the different Ministries. 

In addition to the five courses conducted, another regular feature 
of the Study Centre was the holding of general lectures, on 
Saturdays, for all senior officers. Altogether twelve such general 
lectures were organised with attendances averaging 100 each time. 
Most of the speakers were Ministers, including the Prime Minister, 
Parliamentary Secretaries and Political Secretaries who spoke on 
various aspects of political and cultural developments in Singa- 
pore, pacueulatly in relation to the Civil Service _ what it can 
do. 


HISTORY AND ADMINISTRATION 45 


Apart from the Political Study Centre, the Government Staff 
Training Centre also continued its activities and carried out a full 
programme of induction and vocational courses during the year. 
Two new courses were also designed and conducted for School 
Principals and members of the Legislative Assembly. 

An analysis of the officers who underwent various such training 
courses at the Staff Training Centre in 1959 is shown below. 


._ Number Number and Grade of 
Duration é 
Type of Course of C ae = Officers Attending Total 
Course “Held I IL IU IV Others 
1. Administrative 2 3 44 — — — — 44 
weeks 
2. Executive ie 2 1 — 13 — — a 13 
weeks 
3. Clerical .. ‘14 4 — — 75 — — 75 
months 
4. Clerical Assistant 4 1 _- — 18 —- — 18 
days 
5. Administrative 
Course for 
School Princi- 
pals ss 2 1 — 30 — — — 30 
weeks 
6. Courtesy Courses 1 52 — 51 547 1,009 — 1,607 
day 
7. Course of Legis- 
lative Assem- 
blymen .. 10 2 — — — — 24 24 
mornings 
Total .. — 64 44 94 640 1,009 24 1,811 


A review of the policy as regards the granting of awards for 
overseas scholarships was made in the middle of the year, to ensure 
that no student proceeded on a course unless the Government was 
satisfied that the training was essential and not merely desirable. 
Courses for overseas studies are approved only if training facilities 
are not available locally and the necessity for such training had 
been established. By and large the courses of studies were con- 
fined to technical and professional training at advanced level. As 


46 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


a result, the number of officers proceeding for studies on depart- 
mental awards for 1959 was reduced as will be seen from the 
following figures for the last six years: 


Year Scholarships Fellowships Training Total 
Courses 
1954 a 15 — 37 52 
1955 ay 42 — 58 100 
1956 sa 65 27 33 125 
1957 seg 100 59 96 255 
1958 ie 73 86 96 255 
1959 fa 10 13 18 41 
Total ... 305 185 338 828 


Departmental study awards were supplemented by offers of 
training from member countries of the Colombo Plan Technical 
Co-operation Scheme. The countries which have offered training 
facilities to Singapore under the Colombo Plan for the last three 
years are listed below: 


1957 1958 1959 Total 


Australia sah 32 20 11 63 
Canada ee 2 — — 2 
Ceylon... as 1 — I 

. India i use 3 5 — 8 
Japan beg 2 1 5 
New Zealand See 11 8 8 27 
Total... 51 35 20 106 


Staff Relations 


Consultation and negotiations with staff organisations on matters 
concerning terms and conditions of service of Civil servants are 
conducted mainly through joint bodies of representatives of 
Government forming the Official Side, and representatives of staff 
organisations forming the Staff Side. The main joint body cover- 
ing the whole civil service, known as the Singapore Civil Service 
Joint Council was formed in 1955. In addition, there are nine 
Departmental Joint Committees which deal with matters of interest 
to the departments concerned. | 


HISTORY AND ADMINISTRATION 47 


The general revision of salaries of the different branches which 
was begun in 1956 on the lines recommended in the Malayani- 
sation Policy (No. Cmd. 65 of 1956) was continued during the first 
half of the year. This general revision was to provide a ladder 
for the able officer to progress to the highest post in the Civil Ser- 
vice and to amplify the salary structure by reducing the number 
of salary scales to a few carefully chosen ones which would fit 
into a rational pattern. However, negotiations on this revision came 
to an abrupt halt in the middle of the year when interest was 
switched to the negotiations on the revision in the rates of variable 
allowances payable by Government. No agreement had been 
reached by the end of the year. 


Il POPULATION 


TW“HE LAST census of Singapore was taken on the night of 
17th/18th June, 1957. The population as enumerated was 
1,445,929* as compared with 938,1447 in the previous census taken 
in 1947. Thus between 1947 and 1957 the population increased 
54.1 per cent as against an increase of 68 per cent over the sixteen- 
year period 1931-47. The prime factors contributing to this rapid 
increase in the population were a very high and stable birth rate, 
a very low and declining death rate, and some movement of people 
into Singapore from the Federation. This was in contrast to the 
decades before the Second World War when a great majority of 
the increase in population could be attributed to immigration rather 
than to the natural increase. 
An analysis of the figures among the major groups indicates that 
the Malaysians and Indians and Pakistanis recorded a greater rate 
of population growth than the other races. 


POPULATION INCREASE, 1947-57 


1947 1957 Increase, 1947-57 


Racial Group Census Census Number Percentage 


Malaysians ... 113,803 197,059 83,256 73.2 
Chinese a ... 729,473 1,090,596 361,123 49.5 
Indians and Pakistanis sas 68,967 124,084 55,117 79.9 
Eurasians ae te 9,110 11,382 2,272 24.9 
Europeans et Ss 9,279 10,826 1,547 16.7 
Others wes 7,512 11,982 4,470 59.5 

Total ... 938,144 1,445,929 507,785 54.1 





* Excluding (a) 27,299 non-locally domiciled Services personnel (including 
United Kingdom-based civilians employed by the Services) and their 
families; (6) 3,466 Transients Afloat, and (c) 2,619 persons enumerated in 
Christmas Island which was transferred to Australia on the Ist January, 
1958. 

t Excluding (a) 25,860 Services personnel in Services establishments; (5) 
2,530 Transients Afloat, and (c) 7,517 Japanese surrendered personnel. 


POPULATION 49 


With a total population of 1,445,929 in 1957 the State had an 
overall population density of 6,441 persons per square mile in 
comparison with 4,179 persons per square mile in the 1947 Census. 
Based on the mid-1959 population estimate of 1,579,600 the over- 
all population density worked out to 7,036 persons per square mile. 

Of the total population of 1,445,929 enumerated at the 1957 
Census, 75.4 per cent were Chinese, 13.6 per cent Malaysians, 8.6 
per cent Indians and Pakistanis and 2.4 per cent were Europeans, 
Eurasians, Ceylonese and a number of other races. The cosmo- 
politan nature of the island is such that few Asian or European 
races are completely unrepresented. A comparison of the 1947 
figures with the mid-1959 population estimates brings out the fact 
that the racial composition of the population has not altered to 
any marked extent though the percentages of the Malaysians and 
of the Indians and Pakistanis have increased over the last two 
decades. The latter phenomenon is mainly due to immigration. 
Some 44,000 Malaysians and 42,000 Indians and Pakistanis came 
into the State in the years 1947-57. 

Of the total population in 1957, 762,760 were males and 683,169 
were females giving a sex ratio of 1,117 males per thousand 
females. When compared with the sex ratio of 1,217 males per 
thousand females in 1947, the 1957 sex ratio shows a marked 
trend towards a more even sex distribution. This trend is found 
in the sex ratios of all the principal racial groups. With the excep- 
tion of the Eurasians, however, all races still had a greater number 
of males than females. Although the sex ratio of the Indians and 
Pakistanis has experienced the greatest change in recent years it is 
still the most abnormal, having more than twice as many males as 
females. 


POPULATION BY SEX AND SEX RATIO 
Sex Ratio 


1947 Census 1957 Census Males per 1,000 
Racial Group Male Female Male Female Females 
1947 1957 

Malaysians 253 gs 62,264 51,539 103,249 93,810 1,208 1,101 
Chinese Ser .-- 387,373 342,100 555,663 534,933 1,132 1,039 
Indians and Pakistanis Sue $1,715 17,252 85,988 38,096 2,998 2,257 
Eurasians we ee 4,445 4,665 5,676 5,706 953 995 
Europeans ane sae 5,136 4,143 5,767 5,059 1,240 ~=1,140 
Others ws bee 4,030 3,482 6,417 5,565 1,157 1,153 


Total .... 514,963 423,181 762,760 683,169 1,217 1,117 


ce 


§0 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


_ An estimate of the mid-1959 population by racial group and 
sex, based on the 1957 Census figures plus excess of births over 
deaths plus net migration is as follows: 


MID-1959 POPULATION ESTIMATES BY RACE AND SEX 








Both Sexes ale Female 
(000) 





Racial Group ('000) (000) 
Malaysians 217.3 113.6 103.7 
Chinese 1,190.1 604.4 585.7 
Indians and Pakistanis 134.6 91.6 43.0 
Eurasians 12.0 5.9 6.1 
Europeans 12.2 6.4 5.8 
Others 13.3 7.1 6.2 

Total 1,579.6 829.0 750.6 








Note:—(1) The Population Estimates exclude the following categories 
enumerated in the June 1957 Census:— 


(a) 27,299 non-locally domiciled Services personnel (in- 
cluding United Kingdom-based civilians employed 
by the Services) and their families; and 


(b) 3,466 Transients Afloat. 


(2) Births and deaths of persons within category (a) above are 
excluded from these estimates. 


(3) Figures do not add up to total because of rounding up. 


It can thus be seen that the trend is towards a rapidly increasing 
population as a result of a high birth rate and a spectacular decline 
in infant mortality over the years. The rapid increase in population 
particularly among the younger age groups poses many problems, 
some of which are discussed in the appropriate sections of this 
and other chapters. 


NATURAL INCREASE 


The total natural increase—excess of births over deaths—during 
1959 was 52,289 as compared with 51,919 in 1958. The crude 
natural increase rate for 1959 is 33.1 per thousand mid-year 


POPULATION 51 


population, which is slightly lower than the rate of 34.3 in 1958. 
This high natural increase rate is the principal factor that deter- 
mines the rapid rate of population growth in Singapore. 


NATURAL INCREASE AND CRUDE NATURAL INCREASE RATES 


1947 1957 1958 1959 
si.. TE ee a fea tes peaes fee fa 
Rates Rates Rates Rates 
Malaysians .. 3,444 30.3 7,350 37.3 8,074 38.9 8,673 39.9 
Chinese... .. 24,261 33.3 38,567 35.4 38,576 33.8 38,368 32.2 
Indians and Pakistanis 2,209 32.1 4,229 34.1 4,324 33.4 4,316 32.1 
Eurasians ... ais 275 30.2 285 25.0 275 23.4 270 22.4 
Europeans es 238 6.8 317 29.3 273 24.0 244 20.0 
Others... ask 107 14.2 362 30.2 397 32.3 418 31.3 


Total ... 30,534 32.6 51,110 35.3 $1,919 34.3 $2,289 33.1 








Male oi -. 14,723 — 25,584 — 25,923 — 26,061 — 
Female __... -» 15,811 _ 25,526 — 25,996 — 26,228 _ 
Both Sexes... 30,534 — 51,110 — 51,919 _— 52,289 — 


Note: —Live-births of wives of non-locally domiciled Services personnel (including United King- 
dom-based civilians employed by the Services) and deaths of the foregoing category of 
persons and members of their families, are excluded in arriving at the figures of natural 
increase for the years 1957, 1958 and 1959. The natural increase in this category during 
the years 1957, 1958 and 1959 was 865, 1,014 and 1,185 respectively. 


BIRTHS 


The registration of births jn Singapore is compulsory and may 
be effected at a number of registration centres established for the 
purpose or at any police station outside the City limits. There 
is now a greater incentive for people to register births of their 
children because it is recognised that a’ valid birth certificate is 
useful to support applications for entry into schools and Govern- 
ment service, and for citizenship and passports. Indirect evidence. 
tends to support the view that the registration of births is now- 
adays virtually complete. 


52 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 
LIVE-BIRTHS AND CRUDE BIRTH RATES 


1947 1957 1958 1959 


Live- Crude Live- Crude Live- Crude Live- Crude 
Racial Group Births Birth Births Birth Births Birth Births Birth 
Occurred Rate Occurred Rate Occurred Rate Occurred Rate 


Malaysians .-» $,473 48.1 9,317 47.3 10,005 48.3 10,463 48.1 
Chinese... .» 33,629 46.1 46,263 42.4 46,189 40.5 45,799 38.5 
Indians and Pakistanis 3,087 44.8 5,020 40.5 5,116 39.5 5,073 37.7 
Eurasians ... mie 359 39.4 360 31.6 362 30.9 341 28.3 
Europeans we 312 8.9 355 32.8 338 29.8 286 23.4 
Others... abe 185 24.6 442 36.8 485 39.5 502 37.6 


Total... 43,045 45.9 61,757 42.7 62,495 41.3 62,464 39.5 


Male a we. 22,152 —_— 31,795 — 32,180 — 32,061 = 
Female... ..- 20,893 —_— 29,957 — 30,313 — 30,403 — 
Both Sexes ... 43,045 — 61,757" — 62,495¢ — 62,464 — 

* Includes 5 unknown sex. t Includes 2 unknown sex. 


Note:—Live-births of wives of non-locally domiciled Services personnel (including United King. 
dom-based civilians employed by the Services) are excldued from the number of live-births 
for the years 1957, 1958 and 1959. There were 928, 1,077 ana 1,256 live-births in this 
category during the years 1957, 1958 and 1959 respectively. 

During 1959 there were 62,464 live-births as compared with 
62,495 in 1958. The crude birth rate fell slightly from 41.3 per 
thousand mid-year population in 1958 to 39.5 in 1959. This is 
attributable to the increase in the younger age groups (under 15 
years of age) in the population rather than to a fall in the age- 


specific fertility rate. 
DEATHS 


The registration of deaths is compulsory and may be effected in 
the same registration centres and police stations as the registra- 
tion of births. Virtual completeness of death registration is ensured 
by the legal requirement that a death has to be registered before 
a burial permit may be obtained. Besides, Coroner’s enquiries are 
conducted when suspicion arises that a death has not been due 
to natural causes. 


POPULATION 53 


DEATHS AND CRUDE DEATH RATES 


1947 1957 1958 1959 
Deaths Crude Deaths Crude Deaths Crude Deaths Crude 
Racial Group Regis- Death Regis- Death Regis- Death Regis- Death 
tered Rate tered Rate tered Rate tered Rate 
Malaysians .«. 2,029 17.8 1,967 10.0 1,931 9.3 1,790 8.2. 
Chinese... .-. 9,368 12.8 7,696 7.1 7,613 6.7 7,431 6.2 
Indians and Pakistanis 878 12.7 791 6.4 792 6.1 757 5.6 
Eurasians ... as 84 9.2 715 6.6 87 7.4 71 5.9 
Europeans aor 14 2.1 38 3.5 65 5.7 42 3.4 
Others eee ‘ae 78 10.4 80 6.7 88 7.2 84 6.3 
Total ... 12,511 13.3 10,647 7.4 10,576 7.0 10,175 6.4 
Male ae ... 7,428 — 6,212 _— 6,252 — 5,999 — 
Female... ..- §,081 —_ 4,431 — 4,317 _ 4,175 — 
Both Sexes ... 12,511 — 10,647 — 10,576 — 10,1758 — 
* Includes 2 unknown sex. Includes 7 unknown sex. 
t Includes 4 unknown sex. Includes 1 unknown sex. 


Note:—Deaths of non-locally domiciled Services personnel (including United Kingdom-based 
civilians empires by the Services) and members of their families are excluded from the 
number of deaths for the years 1957, 1958 and 1959. There were 63, 63 and 71 deaths in 
this category during the years 1957, 1958 and 1959 respectively. 


The number of deaths during the year was 10,175 as compared 
with 10,576 in 1958. The crude death rate for 1959 stood at the 
record low level of 6.4 per thousand mid-year population as com- 
pared with 7.0 in 1958. This low and declining death rate, coupled 
with the high birth rate has resulted in the very hjgh rate of natural 
increase and the rapid rate of population growth mentioned earlier. 
The declining low death rate is caused partly by the youthfulness 
of the population, and partly by the stringent public health mea- 
sures, the increasing use of modern medicine, and the improving 
standards of living, particularly of housing—which make Singa- 
pore one of the most healthy places in the tropics. 


IMMIGRATION CONTROL 


Singapore and the Federation of Malaya have all along formed 
a single unit for the purpose of Immigration Control. Permission 
to enter one territory normally included permission to enter the 
other and movement between the two territories hitherto, generally, 
has been unrestricted. Each territory has its own Immigration 
Department but the two departments work in close co-operation 
with each other to enforce a common policy. 


54 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Until the introduction of the Aliens Ordinance, 1933, there was 
no control whatsoever of immigration into Malaya with the result 
that a large number of labourers, mainly males from China and 
India, came to Malaya to seek employment. After the depression 
of 1928 to 1933, the incidence of unemployment made it imperative 
to exercise some control over immigration. The Aliens Ordinance, 
1933, introduced a quota system for the admission of aliens. Under 
the quota system, females and children were not restricted but the 
majority of those who sought admission were still males. The Sino- 
Japanese War in China, however, changed the character of the flow 
of immigrants into Malaya causing a large number of wives and 
children, and unmarried women to leave Chma to join relatives 
in Malaya. This influx of wives and children, and unmarried women 
improved the sex ratio of the population. Thus, whilst in 1932 
there were 1,713 males per thousand females in Singapore, the 
ratio in 1947 was 1,217 males per thousand females and in 1957, 
1,117 males per thousand females, thus steadily bringing the sex 
ratio towards normalcy. 

The quota system was never effective in permitting selective 
immigration by which only those immigrants beneficial to the coun- 
try were admitted. To remedy this as from Ist August, 1953 
amendments were introduced to the Immigration Ordinance by 
which all newcomers were prohibited from permanent entry unless 
they fell within one or more of the categories specified in the 
schedule. The purpose was to admit only those who could con 
tribute to the economic and industrial development of the country 
and who could provide services which were not available locally, 
as well as families of persons locally-resident and those on special 
compassionate grounds. 

In 1959 further amendments were introduced. The main change 
brought by the Immigration Amendment Ordinance, 1959 (No. 
22 of 1959) was to limit the classes of persons entitled to entry 
into Singapore without a Permit or Pass to citizens of Singapore 
only, but reserving a qualified right to Federal citizens. The other 
classes of persons who, prior to the amendment, had enjoyed a 
right of entry—such as British subjects born in Malaya, British 
subjects ordinarily resident in Malaya, British subjects naturalised 
in Singapore—had their right abrogated. Some other classes of 
persons who were hitherto entitled to a right of entry—such as 
diplomats, members of Her Majesty’s Forces, members of certain 
international organisations—are now only exempted from the need 


POPULATION 55 


of having a Permit or Pass to enter Singapore by the Immigration 
Exemption Order, 1959, but have lost their unqualified right of 
entry. 

Another change in the law was the requirement for wives of 
persons, who had been entitled to a right of entry, to obtain Entry 
Permits to enter the country. Similarly, children of certain classes 
of British subjects who had a right of entry up to the age of 18 
years under the law before its amendment were required to apply 
for Entry Permits. These permits were issued only to children 
under 15 years of citizens of Singapore, or under 12 years of resid- 
ents who are not citizens. 

Further, under the new Immigration Prohibition of Entry Order, 
1959, the category of persons hitherto allowed in on Entry Per- 
mits if they held contracts of service of two years with a minimum 
salary of $500 per mensem was totally abolished. Under the Im- 
migration Regulations, 1959, persons on a contract with an 
approved firm for a minimum period of two years and on a salary 
in excess of $1,200 per mensem can qualify for a new type of pass 
called the Employment Pass. Under a proviso to the Regulations, 
a person drawing less than $1,200 per mensem may be granted an 
Employment Pass, provided the Controller of Immigration is 
satisfied that there is no local resident available to do the job. 

' Another major change to the law is to transfer the exercise of 
discretion in the admission of persons on special compassionate 
grounds from the Controller to the Minister. 

A further restriction on the entry of persons for permanent 
residence was brought about by an amendment to the Immigration 
Prohibition Order, 1959, which came into effect on 1st December, 
1959. By this amendment, the wife and child of a resident who is 
not a citizen of Singapore, can no longer be admitted permanently 
into the country, although the husband and/or father is a resident 
here. The Order was amended so that (a) the wife of a citizen of 
Singapore (not herself a cjtizen) is not eligible for entry if she has 
been separated from her husband for more than five years, and (b) 
the entry of the children of citizens, who until 1st December, 1959 
had been allowed to enter if they were under 15 years of age was 
limited to those under 6 years old. 

It is too early to determine the effect of these amendments to 
the Immigration laws, but a drastic reduction of persons entering 
for permanent stay in the country will certainly be likely in 1960. 

As compared with 1958, the figure for the year 1959 shows a 
slight increase in the number of Entry Permits issued to immigrants 


56 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


to reside in Singapore. Whilst in 1958, 5,579 persons were issued 
with Permits to enter Singapore, the figure for 1959 is 6,073, an 
increase of 494 persons. Of the 6,073 persons issued with Entry 
Permits, 4,244 were granted during the first half of the year, and 
1,829 in the second half of the year. 

Of the 6,073 persons permitted to enter for residence in 1959, 
5,014 were wives and children of persons lawfully resident (2.574 
wives, 2,400 children) as compared with 4,625 in 1958. Similarly, 
there was an increase in the number of persons admitted under 
special compassionate grounds. The majority of the latter were 
aged parents of local residents. The figure was 1,023 (including 
243 fathers, 730 mothers) in 1959 as compared with 868 in 1958, 
an increase of 155 persons. 

As in prevjous years, the majority of the immigrants issued 
with Entry Permits were from China and India. 

The figures of other categories who were permitted entry for 
permanent residence are negligible. Only 13 Permits were granted 
to specialists, e.g. doctors, civil, mechanical and electrical engineers 
and accountants. Five Permjts were granted to persons on the 
grounds of their being likely to be of economic benefit to Singa- 
pore. 

The change in the law regarding the admission of contract 
employees led to the issue of some 679 Employment Passes for 
1959 as from Ist May, 1959, when this Pass was introduced. Of 
this number, 484 were in respect of perons who had entered 
Singapore prior to Ist May, 1959 and who had been granted one- 
year Visit Passes for employment. The others were contract em- 
ployees of the Government or City Council or in private firms 
with a minimum two-year contract and drawing salaries in excess 
of $1,200 per mensem. 

Compared with 1958, there was an overall increase of passengers 
who disembarked or passed through Singapore in 1959. Whilst in 
1958 the figure was 252,965, this rose to 270,850 in 1959, an in- 
crease of 7 per cent. The biggest increase in the number of 
passengers, disembarking and in transit at Singapore, was amongst 
air passengers, the figures showing an increase of 15 per cent over 
the previous year. 

Another noticeable feature of the year was the increased number 
of prosecutions for illegal entry into Singapore. In 1959, 136 per- 
sons were prosecuted for offences against the Immigration Ordin- 
ance, as compared with 39 in 1958. With the action taken by the 


POPULATION 57 


Indonesian Government against alien retailers in villages, the 
majority of whom are of Chinese racial origin, there has been a 
bigger number of illegal immigrants from Indonesia entering 
Singapore. The number of these illegal immigrants is not known but 
through the system of national registration whereby persons enter- 
ing Singapore are required to have Identity Cards or to hold travel 
documents, illegal immigrants are invariably found out because of 
their inability to produce documents of identity. These illegal im- 
migrants are prosecuted in the courts and after prosecution, they 
are repatriated to where they came from or to their country of 
origin. 

The Marine Police and the Customs Department employ their 
launches and other facilities to assist the Immigration Department 
in preventing clandestine immigration by peoples from neighbour- 
ing countries who are attracted by living conditions in Singapore. 
In addition, under the Registration of Persons Ordinance, 1955, 
every person of 12 years of age and over is required to obtain an 
identity card unless his stay in Singapore is for less than thirty 
days. The issue of identity cards is linked to the immigration 
control system, and any person without an identity card and not 
otherwise cleared by the Immigration Department has to explain 
his presence in Singapore. The cards are kept up-to-date by pro- 
visions in the law that require persons to notify, for endorsement, 
changes in addresses, loss of cards, etc. 

Aliens, other than Chinese and Indonesians, who are resident in 

the State, are required to register their names, addresses and other 
particulars with the Registrar of Aliens after fourteen days’ stay. In 
1959 1,629 new persons were registered. At the end of the year 
there were 2,385 aliens remajning on the books as residents for 
over one month and 1,849 aliens were registered while in transit. 
Hotels are required to keep registers of arrivals and departures of 
aliens. 
- Asa result of increasing restriction on the entry of aliens since 
the early 1930’s the population of Singapore has become more 
settled and an increasing proportion of the population is now local 
born. Figures at the 1957 Census showed that 64.3 per cent of 
the total population were born in Singapore, 8.6 per cent in the 
Federation of Malaya and the remaining 27.1 per cent in other 
countries. 


58 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


MIGRATION BETWEEN SINGAPORE AND 
FEDERATION OF MALAYA 


The population of Singapore continues to be slightly affected 
by the migration of people between Singapore and the Federation 
of Malaya, the general direction of which during recent years has 
been from the Federation into Singapore. The exact volume of 
movement is not known owing to the lack of comprehensive data, 
but a broad outline of it can be deduced from identity card 
records, although these records exclude those below 12 years of 
age. In 1959 there was a substantial reduction in the number of 
persons migrating from the Federation into Singapore, there being 
a surplus of 7,980 persons migrating from the Federation into 
Singapore as against a surplus of 10,520 persons in the previous 
year. The surplus for the period Ist January, 1949 to 31st December, 
1959 amounted to 73,553. A general picture of this internal move- 
ment according to racial groups and sex during the year 1959 may 
be seen from the following table: 


PERSONS EACHANGING SINGAPORE/FEDERATION IDENTITY CARDS IN 
959 BY RACIAL GROUP AND SEX 


Surplus or Deficit of 
Persons Exchanging Persons Exchanging Persons Exe 

Racial Group Federation Identity Singapore Identity Federation Identity 

Cards for Sing e Cards for Federation Cards over # fibpated 

Identity Cards Identity Cards Exchanging Singapore 

Identity Cad 

Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female 

Malaysians ... 2,938 1,842 1,096 1,302 1,018 284 1,636 824 812 
Chinese... 7,785 4,231 3,524 2,530 1,764 766 5,225 2,467 2,758 
Indians and Pakistanis 1,986 1,591 395 1,085 969 116 901 622 279 
Eurasians ... eae 70 31 39 38 22 16 32 9 23 
Europeans wee 362 103 259 170 96 74 192 7 18S 


Others... sis 55 29 26 61 41 20 —-6 —12 6 


Total ... 13,166 7,827 5,339 5,186 3,910 1,276 7,980 3,917 4,063 








MARRIAGES 


With its diverse religions and racial customs, Singapore has 
various forms of marriage. The three types of marriages that are 
solemnized and registered according to existing statute law are 
civil marriage, Christian marriage and Muslim marriage. Other 
marriages which are solemnized according to religious and custom- 
ary rites, though recognized in the courts, are not registered. Com- 
plete figures for all marriages contracted during the year are there- 
fore not available. 


POPULATION 59 


Under the provisions of the Civil Marriage Ordinance (Cap. 38) 
which came into force on Ist January, 1941 and which repealed 
a previous Ordinance of 1899, persons of all races, religions or 
customs may contract if they wish monogamous civjl marriages 
solemnized and registered in the Registry of Marriages. But civil 
marriages may not be contracted by two parties if both are 
Muslims or either one of them is below 16 years of age. The 
Christian Marriage Ordinance (Cap. 37) which also came into force 
on Ist January, 1941 and which repealed the same Ordinance of 
1899 provides for the registration in the Registry of Marriages of 
monogamous Christian marriages solemnized by ministers of re- 
ligion. Ordinarily, a Christian marriage is invalid if either of the 
parties is below 16 years, but under certain circumstances this 
minimum age limit may be waived. The number of civil marriages 
during the year was 2,298 which is an increase of 16.8 per cent 
over the previous year’s 1,968. The number of Christian marriages 
decreased from 784 in 1958 to 723 in 1959, a decrease of 7.8 per 
cent. 


Civil Marriages Christian Marriages 

Race 1957 1958 1959 1957 1958 1959 
Chinese ... 1,425 1,692 2,058 326 371 412 
Indians Sah 135 102 96 81 73 56 
Eurasians oe 3 2 6 69 53 37 
Europeans o 61 56 43 159 198 130 
ers ee — 3 3 — 4 4 
Inter-Racial at 81 113 92 95 85 84 
Total ... 1,705 1,968 2,298 730 784 723 








The new Muslim Ordinance, cited as the Muslim Ordinance, 
1957 (No. 25 of 1957) came into force on 25th December, 1958, 
repealing the old Muslim Ordinance of 1880. The new Ordinance 
provides for several important changes in regard to Muslim mar- 
riages and divorces with the aim of enforcing the law of Islam 
more carefully and reducing the number of divorces among 
Muslims. Besides providing for the solemnization of Muslim mar- 
riages by Kathis and the registration of such marriages in the 
Registry of Muslim Marriages, it also provides for the establish- 
ment of a Muslim Law Court or Shariah Court and for the appoint- 
ment of a Registrar of Muslim Marriages and a Presiding Officer 
of the Shariah Court. Muslim marriages solemnized during the 
year numbered 2,100 as compared with 2,327 in 1958. The 
majority of these marriages were contracted by Malays, Indone- 
sians, Pakistanis and Arabs—the main Muslim communities in 
Singapore. 


60 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


In December 1959, a Bill was introduced in the Legislative 
Assembly to amend the Muslims Ordinance, 1957. The amend- 
ments are aimed at increasing the powers of the Shariah Court. 
The Court would be given powers to make orders for maintenance, 
and for the payment of mas-kahwin and consolatory gifts as well 
as for the enforcement of such orders. The intention is to give 
the Court the powers of a Magistrate’s Court and to enable it to 
appoint arbitrators in cases where application is made for divorce 
or nmusus. Another provision requires that the marriage of a person 
who already has a wife or wives can only be solemnized by the 
Chief Kathj. The Bill is now under consideration by a Select 
Committee of the Legislative Assembly. 

During the course of the year legislation for a Women’s Charter 
was under preparation. This Charter which is a comprehensive piece 
of legislation would provide inter alia for monogamous marriages 
and for the registration of such marriages irrespective of race, re- 
ligion, custom or usage, the only persons to be exempted being 
Muslims. It is expected that the proposed Bill will be passed early 
in 1960 with the simultaneous repeal of the Christian Marriage 
Ordinance and the Civil Marriage Ordinance. 


NATIONALITY AND CITIZENSHIP 


Until the coming into operation of the State of Singapore Act, 
1958, on 3rd June, 1959, all persons born in Singapore were British 
subjects and citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies. There 
were, however, large numbers of foreign-born persons on the island. 
Provision exists in the British Nationality Acts, 1948 and 1958, 
for the acquisition of citizenship of the U.K. and Colonies by 
naturalisation in the case of aliens and by registration in the case 
of Commonwealth citizens. Between Ist January and 2nd June, 
1959 (before the introduction of the new Constitution), 297 persons 
acquired citizenship of the U.K. and Colonies by naturalisation 
and 371 by registration. 

With the introduction of Singapore citizenship th:s became a 
more vital and meaningful status to persons resident in Singapore. 
The Singapore Citizenship Ordinance, 1957, provides for the 
acquisition of Singapore citizenship by birth, descent, registration 
or naturalisation. The provisions relating to the acquisition of 
citizenship by birth, descent and registration were brought into 
force on Ist November, 1957. During 1959, 70,083 persons applied 
for citizenship by descent or registration. 12,006 of the applications 
were approved, 1,700 refused, 10,045 abandoned or withdrawn, 
while 46,332 were under consideration at the end of the year. 


POPULATION 61 


On Ist May, 1959, the provisions of the Ordinance relating to 
the grant of a certificate of citizenship in respect of whose citizen- 
ship a doubt existed was brought into force and up to 3lst 
December, 1959, a total of 51 such certificates were issued. 

The provisions relating to naturalisation were brought into force 
on 2nd November, 1959 and 34 certificates of naturalisation were 
issued ‘by the end of the year. 

Since the introduction of Singapore citizenship 339,214 persons 
were registered as Singapore citizens by 3lst December, 1959. 
Singapore citizens by birth were not required to register. 

All Singapore citizens are British subjects or Commonwealth 
citizens under the State of Singapore Act, 1958. 


LITERACY 


The figures for the 1957 Census (the latest available) show that 
out of 963,105 persons 10 years of age and over at the time of the 
census, 503,305 were declared as literate, that is, able to read and 
write a letter in any one language. The literacy rate in Singapore 
was therefore 523 per thousand of the population 10 years of age 
and over. 


PERSONS 10 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER: NUMBER OF PERSONS LITERATE 
IN ANY LANGUAGE AND LITERACY RATES PER 1,000 


Number of Persons 10 Years of Age and Over 


* Literate Not Literacy rates 
Race Total in any literate Particulars per 1,000 of 
language inany not stated persons 10 years 
language of age over 
Malaysians 
Males tad .. 67,055 $5,021 11,837 197 821 
Females ak .-- 57,708 22,614 34,904 190 392 
Total ... 124,763 77,635 46,741 387 622 
Chinese 
Males on .. 364,707 228,266 134,732 1,709 626 
Females sas ... 357,957 105,721 250,624 1,612 295 
Total ... 722,664 333,987 385,356 3,321 462 
Indians and Pakistanis 
Males 5% .-- 69,163 56,404 12,574 185 816 
Females wis .. 21,665 11,913 9,663 89 550 
Total ... 90,828 68,317 22,237 274 752 
Other Races 
Males oe Shs 13,093 12,722 341 30 972 
Females kis ee 11,757 10,644 1,080 33 905 
Total ... 24,850 23,366 1,421 63 940 
Total—All Races 
Males sai .. 514,018 352,413 159,484 2,121 686 
Females ek ... 449,087 150,892 296,271 1,924 336 
Total ... 963,105 503,305 455,755 4,045 $23 


*For census purposes, a person was regarded as ‘literate’ if he could both read and write a 
letter in any language. 


From the above table it will be noticed that the literacy rates 
were higher for males than for females, the lowest rate being re- 
turned for the Chinese who have a literacy rate of 462 per thousand 


62 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


—the only group whose rate was lower than the average for all 
races. The highest rate was returned by “Other Races” both for 
males and females. 

It is observed in the 1957 Census that 201,947 persons 10 years 
of age and over were able to read and write English and 257,482 
were able to read and write Chinese. The figures reveal clearly that 
a large number of the population was able to read and write 
English while 434,200 persons 10 years of age and over were able 
to speak Malay. With the exception of Malay and English, a know- 
ledge of the Indian and Chinese dialects was confined by and 
large to persons of those racial groups. With the emphasis on 
Malay, the national language, and the programme for adult literacy 
classes, it is envisaged that marked improvements will be seen 
by the time the next census is taken. 


RELIGIONS 


A precise enumeration of religions has not hitherto been under- 
taken. The Malaysians are almost invariably Muslims. Among the 
Chinese, the majority are Buddhists with a small minority of Christ- 
ians and an indeterminate number of Taoists and Confucianists. 
It has been difficult to make any clear distinction between the 
various common Chinese religions other than Buddhism and 
Christianity. Most of the Indians are Hindus but there is a sub- 
stantial minority of Muslims, Christians and Sikhs. Almost all 
Europeans and Eurasians are Christians. There are also Jews, 
Parsees and others in Singapore. The various religious groups 
practise their faiths in their own places of worship free of inter- 
ference and in complete harmony with their neighbours. 


GENERAL 


Some of the facts and figures in this chapter throw light on the 
immense problems facing Singapore due to the rapid growth of 
the population of Singapore which is expected to reach the two 
million mark by 1966. The major problems include the provision 
of education for the large and increasing number of children in 
the school-going age, improvement of literacy rates of the general 
population, the provision of employment for the great number of 
youths entering the labour market and the need for more and im- 
proved housing and medical facilities. All this necessitates a high 
rate of social and economic development to keep pace with the 
rate of population growth so that the relatively high standards of 
jiving in Singapore can be maintained and improved. 


[IV PUBLIC FINANCE 
AND TAXATION 


HE YEAR 1959 had been a period of some uncertainty. The 

first half of the year was notable for a general attitude of 
wait-and-see adopted by business enterprises and was a period of 
comparative stagnation due to the impending elections in May 
under the new self-governing constitution for the State. The 
total trade for the first half of the year stood at $2,787 
millions as against $2,960 ‘millions for the first half of 1958. 
The value of imports for the second half of the year averaged 
$264 millions per mensem as against $253 millions per mensem 
for the first half of the year. The value of exports increased to a 
more marked extent. Exports in the second half of the year averag- 
ed at $243 millions per mensem as against $211 millions per men- 
sem for the first half of the year. As compared with the similar 
period last year, trading conditions showed an improvement in 
respect of imports and exports. This resulted principally from the 
higher prices of rubber. 

The building trade, however, went through a difficult period. 
Figures on the production of local building material show a con- 
siderable decline in 1959 as compared with 1958. Local industries 
were adversely affected for a variety of reasons. Local rubber foot- 
wear Suffered from overseas competition. The coconut oil industry 
was plagued by a shortage of copra imports. Rubber re-milling 
industry, however, saw more activity as imports of rubber increased 
consequent on higher prices. 

The consumption of electricity and gas maintained the rate of 
increase shown in the last few years. The consumption of petrol 
and liquor also maintained the normal expected rate of increase. 
In the case of cigarettes, the revenue declined, but this was prin- 
cipally due to a switch-over from imported cigarettes to local 
brands. This developed such a threat to the revenue that it was 
necessary to introduce in September changes in the import duties 
on cut tobacco and the cheaper brands of cigarettes in order to 
arrest the decline in tobacco revenue. 

The Budget for 1959 was framed on a standstill basis. This 
meant that only sufficient provision was entered in the Estimates 


64 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


for works and services which were considered necessary to main- 
tain the existing Government machinery. The last Government 
budgetted for a deficit of approximately $4 millions. A total ex- 
penditure of $268.5 millions was envisaged in the Ordinary Es- 
timates as against a total revenue of $264.6 millions. The Develop- 
ment Budget was planned at $42 millions. This was to be financed 
by $20 millions from the Ordinary Estimates, $18 millions from 
the General Revenue Reserve and $4 millions from other sources. 

Before the general elections in May, supplementary provisions 
were voted for, totalling $10 millions. At the same time, revenue 
from tobacco began to fall in an alarming way due to the transfer 
of consumer choice from imported cigarettes, on which duty was 
high, to locally manufactured cigarettes made from cut tobacco, 
on which the duty was low. A shortfall of $10 millions on tobacco 
revenue was expected. If events were allowed to take their course 
the total deficit, taking both ordinary expenditure and the develop- 
ment estimates together, would eventually amount to $42 millions. 
In order to reduce this deficit, economy measures were introduced, 
including a cut in the variable allowances of civil servants, the 
cessation of development projects which had not been commenced 
and the freezing of vacant posts and uncommitted special expen- 
diture. 

Action had also to be taken to bolster up the declining revenue 
from tobacco. While increasing the tobacco duty to check the 
severe decline, opportunity was taken also to bring the petrol duty 
to the same level as that obtaining in the Federation. At the same 
time, a tax on the hiring of films was introduced. All these measures, 
though they failed to bring revenue to the estimated total of $265 
millions, nevertheless, had the effect of bridging what, at one time, 
threatened to be a most serious gap between revenue and expen- 
diture. The revised Estimates towards the end of the year show 
that total expenditure will amount to $257 millions and revenue 
to about $258 millions. Thus it was shown that the measures taken, 
unpleasant though some of the consequences were, had achieved 
the objective of placing the finances of the State on a sound footing. 


FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION 


The Treasury is responsible for the administration of the finances 
of the State. Under its control are the main revenue collecting 
departments of Income Tax, Customs and Excise, Estate Duty and 
Stamp Duty. 


PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION 65 


Before the beginning of each financial year, an Annual Appro- 
priation Bill is introduced into the Legislative Assembly. The Bill 
is debated in the Committee of the whole Assembly before it is 
passed. During the ensuing financial year, whenever supplement- 
ary provision is required, financial motions are placed before the 
Assembly. These motions are debated in Committee of Supply and 
passed by the Assembly. The supplementary estimates approved 
are subsequently incorporated in a Final Appropriation Bill which 
is introduced as soon as possible after the end of the year. 

An Estimates Committee is appointed under the Standing Orders 
of the Legislative Assembly. The functions of this Committee are 
to examine the estimates of expenditure contained in the schedule 
to the Appropriation Bill and to suggest the form in which they 
might be presented or to report on any economies consistent with 
Government policy which might be affected. The Estimates Com- 
mittee is not a policy-making body but is only concerned with the 
details of expenditure. 

Expenditure, sanctioned during the year by the Appropriation 
Bill and financial motions, is audited at the end of the year by 
the Director of Audit. The Accounts of expenditure and the Report 
of the Director of Audit are then presented to Public Accounts 
Committee whose duty it is to examine the accounts to ascertain 
that expenditure has been incurred in accordance with the Es- 
timates and that full value has been obtained for sums voted to 
departments. 


PUBLIC DEBT 


The total Public Debt of the State was small and adequate 
provision continued to be made to service it. Provision for sinking 
fund contributions and payment of interest in 1959 amounted to 
$7.58 millions which was about 2.86 per cent of the total revenue 
of the State. 

Two loans were raised by the Singapore Government during the 
year; one loan was for $15,000,000 at an annual interest of 5 
per cent redeemable in 1967, and the other was for $25,000,000 at 
an annual interest of 54 per cent redeemable in 1977-79. The sums 
raised by these loans were paid into the Development Fund con- 
stituted under the Development Fund Ordinance, 1959, and would 
be applied for the purposes of the Fund, including the financing 
of development projects approved from time to time as set out 
in the Development Fund Estimates of Singapore. 

The Straits Settlements War Loan of $25,000,000 at 3 per cent 
interest was redeemed during the year. 


66 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


A Statement of Assets and Liabilities appears on pages 76—7. 


PUBLIC LOANS 


Interest 


Description Amount Redeemable 


payable yearly 
$ 

(a) S.S. 3% Loan 30,000,000 1962/1972 15th April 15th Oct. 
(6) S.S. 3% War Loan - -- 10,000,000 1953/1960 15th Jan. 15th July 
(c) Singapore 3% Rehabilitation Loan .. 50,000,000 1962/1970 15th Jan. 15th July 
(da) Singapore Government 3% Resisierce 

Stock 15,000,000 1967 1st April Ist Oct. 
(e) Singapore Government st % Registered 

Stock 25,000,000 1977/1979 1st April Ist Oct. 

Total S.S. and Singapore .. 130,000,000 


Notes:— 


(a) Repayable by Singapore and Penang Harbour Boards by whom charges for 
interest and Sinking Fund are paid. 


(b) Represents free gifts to H.M. Government for the prosecution of the war. 
All charges for interest and Sinking Fund are payable from the General 
Revenue and Assets of the State. 


(c) This loan was intended to provide funds to meet extra-ordinary financial com- 
mitments arising out of the enemy occupation of Malaya or incidental to 
the economic rehabilitation of the State. 


(d) and (e) These loans were intended to provide funds for the Development Fund 
constituted under the Development Fund Ordinance, 1959. 


TAXATION 


As in past years, taxation has been the largest source of revenue. 
In 1959 the yield from taxation accounted for approximately 69.18 
per cent of the State’s total revenue. Of this 27.90 per cent were 
derived from income tax, and 34.70 per cent from customs duties. 
The following table shows the yield from taxation for 1959 com- 
pared with 1957 and 1958: 


REVENUE FROM TAXES 


1957 1958 1959 
$ $ $ 

Entertainments 6,302,143 6,826,306 6,860,769 
Estates 5,101,769 3,042,903 3,244,320 
Income Tax 65,208,273 66,547,773 76,657,196 
Liquors 28,130,326 25,065,459 24,037,251 
Petroleum 25,593,852 32,416,674 34,242,374 
Stamps 2,501,594 3,837,428 3,839,435 
Tobacco 39,313,190 40,563,768 37,107,966 
Totalisator and Swetpitakes 5,752,413 4,412,408 4,205,880 

Total 177,903,560 182,315,136 190,195,191 


PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION 67 


Income Tax 


_ Income tax was introduced in accordance with the provisions 
of the Income Tax Ordinance on Ist January, 1948. The depart- 
ment responsible for making collections is a Pan-Malayan depart- 
ment which is controlled in Singapore by the Comptroller of In- 
come Tax. 

The tax is levied on incomes accruing in or derived from the 
State or received in the State from outside sources. Companies are 
chargeable at the rate. of 40 per cent, and resident individuals are 
charged on a sliding scale with personal allowances as shown in 
the table below. In cases where children are maintained and edu- 
cated outside Malaya, these allowances may be increased: up to 
double the amounts shown in the table. Deductions are also allow- 
ed in respect of life assurance premiums and contributions to 
approved pension or. provident funds. Non-resident individuals are 
chargeable at 40 per cent without these allowances although British 
subjects or British protécted individuals may be entitled to a de- 
duction or proportionate allowances. Double taxation relief arrange- 
ments are in force with the Federation of Malaya, the United King- 
dom, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. 

During the year, legislation providing exemption for pioneer in- 
dustries was introduced to provide for the exemption of tax of 
profits derived by specified new industries for a period of five years, 
or in the case of existing industries, the granting of special allow- 
ances on certain capital expenditure for a similar period. 

A statutory body known as the Malayan Board of Income Tax 
has been constituted to perform and exercise such duties and powers 
as are conferred upon it under the provisions of the Ordinance and 
shall, in addition, consider and decide upon such matters arising 
out of the provisions of the Ordinance as may be referred to it by 
either the Government or the Comptroller-General of Income Tax. 

During the year ended 3lst December, 1959, more than 73,000 
persons (including companies, partnerships and other organisations) 
or approximately 5 per cent of Singapore’s population (1957 
census) lodged returns of income. Slightly over half the population 
of Singapore in 1959 was under 19 years of age so that approximate- 
ly 10 per cent of the population over 19 years rendered returns. 

Of the 73,000 persons rendering returns, 29,891 were assessed 
to tax for 1959, i.e. approximately 2 per cent of the population 
or slightly over 4 per cent of the population aged 19 years and 
above. The number of persons assessed to tax for 1958 was 28,819. 


68 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The number of staff in post fluctuated during the year because of 
transfers, resignations and new appointments. The average number 
employed throughout the year was 248; the establishment provided 


for 273. 


The gross collection of tax during the year was $94,431,518.44. 
Salaries and other expenditure incurred by the Department 
amounted to 1.68 per cent of the gross collection compared with 


2.03 per cent for the previous year. 


RATES OF TAX ON INDIVIDUALS 
(per annum) 


(Note:—These rates are effective from 1st January, 1959) 


Chargeable Income 


On the 
On the 
On the 
On the 
On the 
On the 
On the 
On the 
On the 
On the 
On the 


first 
next 
next 
next 
next 
next 
next 
next 
next 
next 
next 


On every dollar exceeditig 


$ 


PERSONAL ALLOWANCES 


(per annum) 


Unmarried person 


Married couple 


Married couple with 1 child 


Married couple 
Married couple 
Married couple 
Married couple 


with 2 children 
with 3 children 
with 4 children 
with 5 children 


Rate of Tax 
Per cent 


Thereafter $200 per child up to a maximum of 8,150. 


Entertainments Duties 


The Entertainments Duty Ordinance was brought into force on 
Ist January, 1952, and the Comptroller of Customs is responsible, 
as Comptroller of Entertainments Duty, for the Collection of 
duties prescribed by the Ordinance. 


PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION 69 


The scale of Entertainments Duties is as follows: 


cents 
Where the payment for admission ore the amount of 

duty) does not exceed 10 cents ... ... mone 
exceeds 10 cents but does not exceed 20 cents 7 5 
exceeds 20 cents but does not exceed 30 cents Si 10 
exceeds 30 cents but does not exceed 50 cents ofa 15 
exceeds 50 cents but does not exceed $1... tin 295 
exceeds $1 but does not exceed $1.50 ov .. 40 


and thereafter an additional 20 cents of entertainments 
duty for every increase of 50 cents in payment for 
admission. 


Only half the above rates are charged for ‘live’ entertain- 
ments such as stage shows and musical performances. 
Amateur sporting, musical and dramatic entertainments 
are wholly exempted from the payment of duty. 


Film Hire Duty 

A tax on film hire rentals was introduced on 30th September, 
1959, with the enactment of the Cinematograph Film Hire Duty 
Ordinance, 1959. At the end of the year, thirty-nine film distribu- 
tors had been provisionally registered as film renters. This law 
provides for a tax of one quarter of 60 per cent of the gross receipts 
derived by any renter from renting films. 


Customs Duties 

Customs duties are collected only on intoxicating liquors, tobacco 
and petroleum intended for domestic consumption. All other goods 
enter the State of Singapore free. 

The Customs Department is divided into branches dealing 
respectively with administration, revenue collection and the pre- 
vention of smuggling. There are 26 customs stations and 23 bonded 
and licensed warehouses for the storage of dutiable tobacco and 
liquors. Ten installations are licensed to store dutiable petroleum. 

Full and preferential duties are imposed on imported liquors and 
tobacco at the time of their release for local consumption. There 
are also excise duties on intoxicating liquors distilled locally. These 
at present comprise samsu, beer and stout. Cigarettes are manu- 
factured from imported cut and leaf tobaccos in five factories. The 
Customs Department manages a Government Toddy Monopoly 
which provides a wholesome beverage at low cost to the consumer. 


70 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The scale of duties on tobacco and petroleum was revised on 
16th September, 1959, and the rates in force on all items at the end 
of the year are shown below. The duty on petrol is one dollar and 
twenty cents per gallon while the duty on kerosene is five cents per 
gallon. No duties are charged on heavy oils, but a special tax is 
levied under the provisions of the Customs Ordinance on motor 
vehicles which are equipped with engine using such oils. The 
amount of this special tax collected in 1959 was $2.6 millions. 

Analytical work required by the Customs Department for the 
classification and assessment of duty on intoxicating liquors and 
petroleum is undertaken by the Department of Chemistry. 


CUSTOMS TARIFF 


DUTIES ON INTOXICATING LIQUORS 


Duties 
Unit Full Preferential Excise 
$ c. $ c. $ c. 
1. Rectified Spirit ... .. = Pg. 63 50 — — 
2. Brandy 7 7 76 90 69 20 — 
3. Brandy in bottle not exceeding 
81 per cent proof spirit ... g. 60 00 54 00 — 
4. Rum and Gin... p.g. 63 50 — — 
5. Rum and Gin in bottle not 
exceeding 81 per cent Broo 
spirit g. 49 50 _ — 
6. Whisky p.g. 76 90 — — 
7. Whisky in bottle not exceeding 
81 per cent proof spirit ... g. 60 00 — — 
8. Other Intoxicating Liquors ...__ p.g. 76 90 —- 43 75 
9. Toddy-arrack, sit Pineapple 
spirit ‘s 31 00 — — 
10. Samsu (including medicated 
samsu) 9 31 00 — 27 00 
11. Bitters and Ligieurs not ex- 
ceeding 100 per cent proof 
spirit g. $2 00 — — 
12. Sparkling wines not exceeding 
42 per cent proof spirit ... $5 44 00 34 00 = 
13. Still wines exceeding 26 per 
cent but not exceeding 42 
per cent proof spirit a s 18 75 15 00 — 
14. Still wines not exceeding 26 
per cent proof spirit — - 9 40 7 50 — 
15. Ale, Beer, Stout, Porter, Cider 
and Perry — $3 5 20 4 80 4 80 


p.g.= proof gallon. 
g.=imperial gallon, the standard of liquid measure in the State. 


PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION 71 


DUTIES ON TOBACCO 


Duties 
Unit Full Preferential 
$c. $c 
1. Cigars and Snuff see ... per Ib. 16 00 15 00 
2. Cigarettes ate tet: ate il 10 50 10 00 
3. Unmanufactured tobacco — soc Ses 6 00 5 80 
4. Manufactured tobacco—imported in 


containers of any kind for retail 

sale to the public _.. Sec S95 10 10 10 00 
5. Manufactured tobacco imported other- 

wise than in containers of any kind 

for retail sale to the public ae, eT 6 50 — 
6. Manufactured tobacco—provided that 

if it is proved to the satisfaction of 

the Comptroller that the tobacco is 

not to be used for manufacture of 

cigarettes by power-driven mechani- 


cal means ... ys es 2 50 — 
7. Tobacco not otherwise provided for . ye sas 20 00 _— 
DUTIES ON PETROLEUM 
Duties 
Unit Full  Preferentsial 
1. Petroleum with a flashing point below $c. $c. 
73°F. per gal. 1 20 = 


2. Petroleum with a flashing point of or 
above 73° F. 99 3) 05 a 


Estate Duty Office 


The Estate Duty Office is responsible for the collection of estate 
duty, corporation duty and private lottery duty. 


Estate Duty | 

The Estate Duty Ordinance was originally introduced on Ist 
August, 1885. Estate duty is chargeable on the passing of property 
on the death of a person who dies possessed of or has given away 
within five years preceding his death such property whether 
movable or immovable, settled or not settled. The Estate Duty 
Ordinance has made it a condition that payment of estate duty is 
precedent to the issue of Grant of Letters of Administration or 
Probate of Will. 

This department dealt with 1,240 cases in 1959 as against 1,058 
cases in 1958 and 902 cases in 1957. The revenue collected in 1959 
was $3,244,320.26 as against $3,042,903.37 in 1958 and 
$5,101,768.98 in 1957. 


Corporation Duty 
The Corporation Duty Ordinance was originally introduced on 
16th February, 1906. Corporation duty is imposed on the annual 


72 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


value, income or profits of all movable or immovable property 
which belongs to or is vested in bodies corporate or unincorporate. 
The duty is charged at 3 per cent per annum. During 1959 the 
amount collected was $35,555.87 from 160 bodies as compared to 
$28,149.60 from 82 bodies in 1958 and $23,633.21 from 85 bodies 
in 1957. 


Duty on Private Lotteries 


After the introduction of the Private Lotteries Ordinance on 
28th October, 1952, the promotion of a private lottery has become 
unlawful unless a permit has been granted by the Minister for 
Finance. By Government Gazette Notification No. S 314 dated 
15th November, 1957, the power to issue permits in cases where 
the amount to be raised under any one lottery does not exceed 
$10,000 has been delegated to the Commissioner of Estate Duties. 

During 1959, 255 applications for permits, including 177 for re- 
newal of permits for continuous lotteries, were received and 
approved. . 

A duty at the rate of 20 per cent on the gross proceeds is charge- 
able under the Ordinance. A sum of $325,677.08 was collected 
during 1959 as against $331,656.04 in 1958 and $317,816.60 in 1957. 


Duties on Totalisator Bets and Sweepstakes 


The Betting and Sweepstake Duties Ordinance was originally 
introduced on 21st November, 1950. The Betting and Sweepstake 
Duties Ordinance deals solely with the collection of duty on 
totalisator bets and sweepstakes. The rate of duty chargeable on 
totalisator bets is 10 per cent and that on sweepstakes is 30 per 
cent on the gross collections. The rates during the year remain 
the same as in 1958. 

The total amount of duties collected during the year was 
$4,205,880.40 showing a decrease of $206,527.60 as compared with 
the collections for the year 1958 which amounted to $4,412,408. 

The figures for the years 1958 and 1959 were made up as fol- 
lows: 


1958 1959 
$ Cc. $ Cc. 
(a) Duty on totalisator bets paid by the 
Singapore Turf Club ... 1,418,043 20 1,313,392 60 
(b) Duty on sweepstakes paid by the 
Singapore Turf Club ... 2,994,364 80 2,892,487 80 


4,412,408 00 4,205,880 40 


PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION 73 


Stamp Duties 

The Stamp Ordinance was originally introduced on Ist Septem- 
ber, 1881. The Stamp Ordinance is divided into ten parts and three 
schedules, and the duties payable on the different instruments can 
readily be ascertained by reference to Schedule A. 

By virtue of the powers granted under section 8 of the Ordin- 
ance, the Minister for Finance has the power to issue a licence 
authorising any person to pay the required duty on cheques, bills 
of exchange (except promissory notes) and receipts by means of a 
postal franking machine and eleven such licences were issued dur- 
ing the year 1959. 

The gross amount of stamp duties collected in 1959 in accord- 
ance with the provisions of the Stamp Ordinance was $3,642,424.86 
from which has been set off by adjustments the sum of $257,950.26 
being the revenue of various other Governmet departments and 
the sum of $15,400 being refund of stamp duty resulting therefore 
in the net revenue being $3,369,074.60. 

In addition, a net sum of $470,360.35 was received by the Singa- 
pore Postal Authorities being the stamp duties paid by means of 
postal franking machines in respect of instruments recited in section 
8 of the Stamp Ordinance. | 

The total net amounts of stamp duties collected for the years 
1958 and 1959 are as follows :— 

1958 1959 
$3,837,427.95 $3,839,434.95 


ENEMY PROPERTY 


The Public Trustee is also the Custodian of Property, the Admin- 
istrator of German Enemy Property and the Administrator of 
Japanese Property. 

In his capacity as Custodian of Property, he took into custody 
the assets of enemy nationals who were resident in Singapore at 
the outbreak of war. When these assets were sold, the proceeds of 
sale were invested and the income from the money invested has 
accumulated to over $2,000,000. 

In September 1959, legislation was enacted which enabled the 
Custodian of Property to pay over this income earned on invest- 
ments to the Consolidated Fund and up to the end of 1959, 
$2,550,000 had been transferred to the Fund. 


WITH COMPARATIVE FIGURES 


1959 


16,657,196 
24,037,251 
34,242,374 

3,839,435 
37,107,967 

4,205,880 
11,378,925 


201,574,117 


16,537,245 


20,289,273 


6,471,416 


3,959,166 
7,228,716 


11,187,882 


11,738,775 


267,798,708 
665,381 


268,464,089 


4,166,501 


451,770 
1,836,167 
2,287,937 


271,361,594 274,918,527 


74 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 
STATEMENT OF REVENUE AND 
HEADS OF REVENUE 1957 1958 
Crass I 
1. Licences, Excise and Internal Revenue not otherwise 
Classified :— $ $ 
(a) Entertainment Duties 6,302,143 6,826,306 
(6) Estate Duties 5,101,769 3,042,903 
(c) Income Tax 65,208,273 66,547,773 
(d) Liquors 28,130,326 25,065,459 
(e) Petroleum Revenue 25,593,852 32,416,674 
(f) Stamp Duties (Various Revenue Services) 2,501,594 3,837,428 
(zg) Tobacco Duties... ie .. 39,313,190 40,563,768 
(A) Totalisator and Sreceik 5,752,413 4,412,408 
(i) Other Items 11,297, 111 12,500,691 
Total 189,200,671 195,213,410 
Crass II 
2. Fees of Court or Office, Payments for Specific 
Services and Reimbursements-in-Aid .. 15,998,751 16,230,018 
Crass ILI 
3. Posts and Telecommunications 17,933,833 18,711,909 
Crass IV 
4. Rents on Government Property 6,057,858 6,145,193 
5. Interest:— 
(a) Interest on Investments 3,140,749 2,929,786 
(6) Other Items 6 3,114,615 ,199,379 
Total 6,255,364 6,129,165 
Crass V 
6. Miscellaneous Receipts 4,690,138 6,826,182 
TOTAL, EXCLUSIVE OF LAND SALES 240,136,615 249,255,877 
7. Land Sales and Premia on Grants 1,394,450 2,105,717 
8. Transfer of Christmas Island — 20,000,000 
TOTAL REVENUE—CLASS I TO CLASS V 241,531,065 271,361,594 
Crass VI 
9. Rural Board Revenue — ‘emis 
Crass VII 
10. Colonial Development and Welfare Grants — a 
11. Repayments of Loans —_ _— 
Total — — 
TOTAL, REVENUE—CLASS I TO CLASS VII 241,531,065 


PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION 


EXPENDITURE FOR 1959 
FOR 1957 AND 1958 


EXPENDITURE 


Governor 

Judicial . 

Council of Ministers 

Legislature 

Public Service Commission 

Audit... 

Chief Minister 

Chief Secretary 

Broadcasting 

Chemistry 

Chinese Secretariat . ee ee 
Defence Services... ei os 
Film Censorship 

Gardens, Botanic 

Information Services 


Registry of Marriages 
Statistics 


Le er 

eee ial Assignee and Public Trustee 
Treasury 

Charge on account of the Public Debt os 
Penenas: Retired Allowances, Gratutities, etc. 
Contributions — Charitable Morea 
-Accountant-Gen es 
Customs and ieties 

Estate Duty and Stamp Office . 

Income Tax 

Ministry of Commerce and Industry 
Agricultural 

Co-operative Development 

‘Exchange Control . 

Fisheries 

Forest . ‘ 
Imports and Exports Control Registration 
Marine .. 

Marine Surveys 

Supplies 

Trade Marks Registry 

Veterinary 

Ministry of Local Govt., Lands and Housing 
Land and District Offices 

District Councils 

Survey .. 

Education 

Library, Raffles 

Museum, Raffles .. 

Medical and Health 

Ministry of Labour and Welfare. 
Immigration and a 

Labour .. 

Social Welfare : 

Ministry of Communications and Works 
Civil Aviation 

Meteorological Services 

Postal Services 

Public Works - 

Public Works, Recurrent 
Telecommunications ee 
Ministry of National Development = 
Ministry of Culture eck 


Total Expenditure 


one O80 


28,127,843 
213,753 
1,012,672 
749, 
10,772,530 
5,143 
3,025,024 
971,561 
9,572,226 
4,024,055 
7,027,865 
4,374,053 


238,432,454 


1958 


$ 


365,202 
1,755,115 


392,737 
11,122,602 


000 
17,013,220 
1,314,580 
970,274 
3,899,106 
121,082 
1,741,798 
725,635 
81,145 
96,757 
234,722 
363,411 
74,183 
255,454 
1,187,676 
210,452 
228,239 
99,338 
650,974 
220,401 
2,876,344 


996,320 
57,604,452 
326,434 
141,716 
28,372,930 
214,251 
951,480 
752,395 
11,695,494 
218,559 
3,186,520 
958,377 
9,779,860 
4,132,917 
7,239,404 
4,679,335 


75 


1959 


$ 


295,946 
1,644,516 
128, 873 
532,863 
193,350 
555,400 
429,539 
4,836,244 
2,754,262 
316,827 


7,501,527 
242,258 
485,840 

1,159,975 

23,493,512 

1,740,324 

3,173,577 


28, 439, 183 
"56 ; 
899,779 
692,335 

12,461,308 

97,983 
2,962,140 
856,950 
9,656,714 
3,719,058 
6,353,809 
3,988,975 
29,962 
164,828 


266,900,599 253,825,759 


SS a SES ET, 


16 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND 
LIABILITIES 


$ c. $ Cc. $ c. 
CONSOLIDATED REVENUE ACCOUNT:— 


Transferred from General Revenue. Balance 


31st December, 1958 aie 87,197,397 87 


DEDUCT—APPROPRIATION TO:— 


Advance Accounts... oe .. 42,522,019 00 
Contingencies Fund .. ae .- 4,000,000 00 
———_—_———- 46,522,019 00 


40,675,378 87 


ADD SURPLUS FOR 1959:— 


Revenue for year ee re .. 274,918,527 09 
Expenditure for year .. bea .. 253,825,769 10 
—__—__—_—_-——-_ 21,092,757 99 
61,768,136 86 
Add Appreciation of Investments 2% 974,466 94 


62,742,603 80 


CONSOLIDATED LOAN ACCOUNT:— 


Treasury Bills 400,000 00 


Unexpended Loan Proceeds sl ie 9,456,840 07 
—_—_—_—_————._ 9,856,840 07 


OTHER ACCOUNTS:— 


Development Fund 47,718,437 67 


Contingencies Fund 4,000,000 00 
ADVANCE ACCOUNTS:— 

Appropriations fs 42,522,019 00 

Less Advances made (Net) ed .. 14,738,373 40 
——_—_—_—_—_———. 27,783,645 60 

Deposit Accounts 20,113,572 53 

Specific Funds va 4,792,919 22 

Sinking Funds as ra 51,279,877 46 


155,688,452 48 


Total .. 228,287,896 35 


PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION 77 


LIABILITIES AS AT 31ST DECEMBER, 1959 








13,612,836 70 


108,387,259 03 


122,000,095 73 


ASSETS 
$ c. 
CasH:— 
In Banks .. 28 ae .. 13,496,981 84 
With Crown Agents .. es - 8,497 72 
Imprests... is ics de 107,357 14 
INVESTMENTS :— 
Trustee Stocks on ae .. 107,047,259 06 
Other Investments te re a $00,000 00 
Cash Awaiting Investment be oe 839,999 97 
Less applicable to:— 
Consolidated Loan Account... .. 9,856,840 07 
Other Accounts ee a .. 49,400,651 86 





59,257,491 93 


Cash and Investments held for Cone 
Revenue Account .. 


Cash and Investments held for Consolidated 
Loan Account ‘ 


OTHER ACCOUNTS:— 


Cash and Investments (as above) . os 
Investments .¢ and Cash nels for Developmen 


inven one Cash held for Deposits and 
Specific Fund zd 
Investments and Cash held for Sinking Fund 


62,742,603 80 


9,856,840 07 


49,400,651 86 
46,124,666 90 


8,883,256 26 
51,279,877 46 
155,688,452 48 


228,287,896 35 


78 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


CITY COUNCIL 


The financial affairs of the City Council are governed by the 
provisions of the Local Government Ordinance, No. 24 of 1957 
and the Municipal Ordinance which specify the purposes for which 
the Council may expend the Municipal Fund. The Consolidated 
Rate Fund bears the cost of the Municipal Administration and 
the services conducted by the City Council for the benefit of the 
inhabitants of the City Area generally, 1.e. all services other than 
the supply of electricity, gas and water. It is fed by the Consolidated 
Rate made and assessed by the Council under the Local Govern- 
ment Ordinance, the licence fees charged under the Road Traffic 
Ordinance (Chapter 227) and other fees and miscellaneous income 
which arise incidental to those services which are charged upon it. 

Separate accounts are kept for the Trading Undertakings viz. 
Electricity, Gas and Water Undertakings which pay contributions 
in lieu of rates to the Consolidated Rate Fund. No appropriations 
in aid of rates are made from the profits of these departments. 

The maximum rates which the City Council may levy are pre- 
scribed by law. Rates are recoverable from the ‘owner’ of property, 
and is.a first charge on the property on which it 1s made. The 
rates actually levied for the year 1959 were: 

Consolidated Rate ... 30 per cent of assessed value of property (since 
1953—-maximum) within the City (except those 
parts of Mukims III, IV and XV at Pasir 
Panjang, Ulu Pandan and Ulu Kallang respec- 
tively which were within the City Area for rating 


as a result of the changes in the City Boundary 
from ist January, 1959). 


Consolidated Rate ... 19 per cent of assessed value of properties within 
those parts of Mukims III, IV and XV which 
came within the City Area from 1st January, 
1959. 


Improvement Rate ... 2 per cent (since 1928—the maximum is 5 per 
cent) on the Annual Value of properties within 
the City (with the exception of those parts of 
Mukims III, IV and XV at Pasir Panjang, Ulu 
Pandan and Ulu Kallang which came within the 
City from ist January, 1959 which hitherto has 
been rated in the Rural Area. The proceeds of 
the rate are paid over to the Singapore Improve- 
ment Trust. 


Education Rate ... 4 per cent (up to 1958 the maximum was 2 per 
cent, but this ceiling was increased to a new 
maximum of 4 per cent from Ist January, 1959). 
The proceeds of the rate are paid over to the 
Education Finance Board. 


PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION 79 


Section 66 (1) of the Local Government Ordinance, No. 24 of 
1957, provides that all monies received by the City Council by 
virtue of that or any other Ordinance other than for the purposes 
of— 


(a) superannuation and Provident Funds established under the 
provisions of section 13 of the Ordinance; 


(b) Vehicles Reward Fund referred to in section 287 of the 
Ordinance; 


(c) Sinking Funds set aside in accordance with section 82 of 
the Ordinance, 


shall constitute a fund which shall be called the Municipal Fund. 
Section 67 of the Local Government Ordinance specifies the pur- 
poses for which the City Council is authorised to spend the Munici- 
pal Fund. 

For reasons of sound finance the transactions of the Municipal 
Fund are divided into five main sections viz. Consolidated Rate 
Fund which bears the cost of the services conducted by the City 
Council for the benefit of the inhabitants of the City Area generally, 
i.e. all services other than the supply of electricity, gas and water; 
separate sections for accounts for each of the Electricity, Gas and 
Water Undertakings and a section for Subsidiary Accounts of the 
City Engineer’s Department which is sub-divided into the follow- 
ing four categories: | 

(a) Manufacture of Road Materials which is concerned with 
the quarrying purchase and conversion of road mate- 
rials, the production of concrete articles, etc.; 


(b) Plant Depé6t—a pool of portable plant, pumps, concrete 
mixers for hire to departments which require them; 


(c) Transport Centre—a pool of road transport vehicles, roll- 
ers, etc. for hire to departments which require them; 


(ad) Workshops—which undertake jobs of an _ engineering 
nature to order and specification. | 


For the first time since the war the City Council adopted a policy 
of a surplus budget on revenue account, the estimated expenditure 
being $122 millions to be met from an estimated income of $125.6 
millions. 


80 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The final accounts for the year 1959 reveal a surplus of $13.32 
millions made up as follows: 


Millions 
$ 
Rate Fund ... ans igs 8.78 
Electricity Department... a 3.16 
Gas Department ee Se 19 
Water Department 7 a 1.19 
Total ... 13.32 


‘Savings’ have been effected on Annually Recurrent Charges 
mainly against expenditure on salaries and allowances to staff and 
employees’ expenses reflecting the impletion of the Council’s policy 
of Malayanisation and the reduction in the variable allowance 
from July 1959 paid to staff. Underspendings have been revealed on 
the Rate Fund Special Services expenditure mainly reflecting the 
reduced pace of Capital development during the year mainly on 
Roads, Surface Water Drainage and Sewerage Works. 

On the income side the alteration in the City Boundary from Ist 
January, 1959 for rating purposes showed an esitmated loss in 
Consolidated Rates of $1.8 million but with the additional assess- 
ments during the year the loss was wiped out and the net rate 
income was $26.75 millions for 1959 which compared favourably 
to $26.7 millions for 1958. 

On Loan Account the following statement compares the actual 
expenditure incurred in 1959 with the original estimates 1959. 





Consolidated Rate Fund— ; : 
Sewerage Works—Ulu Pandan 15,000,000 7,743,982 

Electricity— 
Pasir Panjang Power Station 852,879 2,235,899 
St. James Power Station 9,559,100 10,048,102 
22 KV Network 3,148,850 2,166,740 
6.6 KV Network 995,000 349,771 
Sundry Substations 3,427,000 — 
Other 856,850 324,455 


18,839,679 


15,124,967 


PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION 81 


Gas— 
Manufacture foe 2 896,799 1,246,602 
Distribution - tas 728,100 732,099 
Other las ahd ox 63,250 243,277 
1,688,149 2,221,978 
Total ... 35,527,828 25,090,927 


Apart from raising the balance of approximately $5 millions of 
the 5 per cent 1958 Loan which was ‘on tap’ at the end of 1958, it 
has been possible to finance this capital expenditure from internal 
sources without recourse to further external borrowing. 

The public debt of the City Council at 3lst December, 1959 
is $267,251,830 made up as follows: 


Earliest Date o 
Dollar Debenture Stocks, etc. . Interest Payable Redemption J 
4% Singapore Municipal Debenture _— 
tock 1913 (1963) Series B 740,560 31st Mar. 30th Sept. 30th Sept., 1963 
Wy ingapore Municipal Debenture 
Sock 1930 (1970/80) .. 5,362,500 ist Mar. Ist Sept. 1st Sept., 1970 
3% Singapore Municipal Debenture 
Stock 1935 (1975/85) .. ; 3,587,830 1st April 1st Oct. Ist April, 1975 
3% Singapore a Debenture 
Stock 1937 (1962 2,750,000 15th May 15th Nov. 15th May, 1962 
34% Singapore Municipal Debenture : 
Stock 1948 (1968/73)  .. 30,000,000 20th Jan. 20th July 20th July 1968 
33% Singapore Manipal Debenture 
Stock 1951 (1961/71)... 25,000,000 31st March 30th Sept. 30th Sept., 1961 
5% Singapore City Bree Debenture 
Stock 1952 (1962/72) . 25,000,000 1st Mar. Ist Sept. Ist Sept., 1962 
43% Singapore City Council Debenture 
Stock 1953 (1963/73)  .. 30,000,000 Ist May Ist Nov. Ist Nov., 1963 
4% Singapore City yo Debenture 
Stock 1954 (1965/77) 30,000,000 31st Mar. 30th Sept. 31st Mar., 1965 
4% Singapore City Council Debenture 
Stock 1955 (1970/80)... 30,000,000 Ist June 1st Dec. ist Dec., 1970 
$% Singapore City Council Debenture 
Stock 1956 (1966/76) _... 50,000,000 ist May 1st Nov. Ist Nov., 1966 
5% Singapore City Council Debenture 
Stock 1958 (1968/78)  .. 30,000,000 15th May 15th Nov. 15th Nov., 1968 
Government of Singapore 3% Loan 1949 900,000 3ist Mar. 30th Sept. 30th Sept., 1961 
Government of See Pore: Free of si 
terest Loan 1956 3,200,000 1967 
266,540,890 


STERLING DEBENTURE STOCK 
4% Singapore Municipal Debenture 
Stock 1913 eo) oe B £82, hie 
at 2s.4d, a 710,940 31st Mar. 30th Sept. 30th Sept., 1963 
267,251,830 
[a a ce a 


ose are Sinking Fund accumulations amounting to $68.7 millions as at 31st Decem- 
ber, 1959. 


RURAL BOARD 


The Rural Board is constituted under section 399 of the Muni- 
cipal Ordinance and since November 1959, it consists of a Chair- 
man, a Deputy Chairman who are Government officers, and a mem- 
ber who is on the staff of the City Council. 


82 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


RURAL 


REVENUE AND 


REVENUE 
1957 1958  I-1-59 to 
2-6-59 
$ $ $ 
Rates (Property assessment, etc.) .. 2,342,003 2,833,058 1,616,959 


Licences (Dogs, Pigsties, Public Markets, etc.) 193,402 205,734 127,843 
Fees (Building Plans, Petroleum Storage, etc.) 519,266 841,476 367,223 
Others .. 2 we .- 367,624 336,488 11,598 
Contribution from Government .- 806,340 251,110 — 


Proportion of Vehicle Licence Fees collected _ 
by City Poel under Road Traffic 
Ordinance : .. 1,023,323 1,125,577 618,605 





Total .. 5,251,958 5,593,443 2,742,228 
SE I I ET OI ET 


PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION 83 
BOARD 
EXPENDITURE 
EXPENDITURE 
1957 1958 I-I-59 to 
2-6-59 
$ $ $ 
RECURRENT EXPENDITURE 
Health 
Conservancy... se .. 834,748 808,471 504,524 
Anti-Mosquito Services .. .- 393,750 386,243 
Anti-Malarial Works ns 321,676 
Other Measures ba .. 222,833 350,581 
General 
Salaries and Allowances... .. 1,020,308 1,109,015 482,101 
Contribution to Fire Brigade .. 95,000 95,000 95,000° 
Street Lighting . P .- 202,000 234,407 58,378 
Fire Hydrants and Water Supply .. 502,020 487,423 29,303 
Others - ; .. 250,888 290,889 127,397 
Public Works 
Maintenance of Public Roads, Bates 
and Road-side Drains... . 605,672 630,042 169,413 
Maintenance of Bukit Timah Quarry .. 257,774 285,383 88,232 
Others ues - .. 258,451 278,248 127,443 
SPECIAL EXPENDITURE 
Resurfacing and Sealing of Roads .. 493,128 402,904 37,899 
Others .. 115,386 234,837 22,756 
Excess of Revenue over Expenditure es — — 678,106 
Total .. 5,251,958 5,593,443 2,742,228 





* Payment for the year 1959. 


84 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Pursuant to an Order made by the former Minister for Local 
Government, Lands and Housing, at the beginning of the year, the 
Rural Board continued to function as the local authority for the 
areas outside the City Limits as defined under the Local Govern- 
ment Ordinance, No. 24 of 1957, and the outlying islands within 
the territorial waters of the State. 

Under the new arrangement, the Katong and Braddell Heights 
areas, which were within the former City Limits, came under the 
jurisdiction of the Rural Board while the Ulu Pandan and Pasir 
Panjang areas (formerly administered by the Rural Board) came to 
be administered by the City Council. 

The Rural Board derived its revenue mainly from rates, taxes 
on vehicles, and various licence fees. In 1959, the total expendi- 
ture was estimated to be $8,160,130 and revenue at $5,945,150. 
However, the revenue obtained by Rural Board was paid to the 
Consolidated Fund with effect from 3rd June, 1959 in accordance 
with section 95 of the Singapore (Constitution) Order in Council, 
1958. The Statements of Accounts for the period 1st January to 
2nd June, 1959, together with the figures for 1957 and 1958, are 
given on pages 82-3. 

The total actual revenue collected for the year was far in excess 
of the amount estimated. This was due to the taking over of the ex- 
cised City areas at Katong and Braddell Heights which are fully 
developed, and also to the unusually large amount of arrears of 
assessment which the department was able to collect as a result of 
decentralisation and more staff being made available. 

During the year, the Rural Board continued to carry out general 
improvements to the Southern Islands and provide amenities to 
the people residing thereat from funds provided for development 
purposes. 


SINGAPORE IMPROVEMENT TRUST 


The Singapore Improvement Trust was established as a corporate 
body in 1927 under the Singapore Improvement Ordinance for the 
improvement and planning of Singapore. The scope of the Trust’s 


PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION 85 


housing activities had so increased in the post-war years as to over- 
shadow its improvement and planning functions to the extent that 
it became principally a housing authority. To regularise this posi- 
tion, two Ordinances were passed in 1959 for the setting up of the 
Housing and Development Board and a Planning Authority respect- 
ively, to take over the functions previously vested in the Singapore 
Improvement Trust and for the Trust to be dissolved when these 
two Ordinances came into operation. 

In addition to its housing and planning functions, further agency 
work was undertaken by the Trust on behalf of the Government 
in the management of two low cost housing estates at Kolam Ayer 
Lane and Upper Aljunied Road and the squatter resettlement area 
at Macpherson Road. Land clearance and resettlement on behalf 
of Government continued, and a small scheme of land clearance on 
behalf of the Royal Air Force was also undertaken. 

A restricted development programme was provided for the year 
1959 at the time the estimates of that year were prepared in 1958. 
The budget envisaged at that time a revenue deficit of some $1.7 
million. Various measures of economy in revenue expenditure were 
effected in the latter part of the year, particularly in respect of the 
administrative costs. 

The Government’s White Paper on Housing Subsidy Policy of 
1957 continued to be implemented to the extent of the fixing of 
rents for new properties according to the tenant’s ability to pay and 
not at economic levels. The majority of tenants had been relieved 
of payment of service charges in respect of lifts, staircase lighting, 
and estates conservancy charges. 


Housing 


Capital development for the year was mainly restricted to the 
continuation of existing approved programmes and contracts with 
a total expenditure of approximately $10 millions. Loan drawings 
during the year were limited by the Treasury to $7 millions and by 
31st December, 1959, only $117.5 millions had been drawn out of 
the total approved loans of $140.637 millions. One loan of $9.5 
millions at 3 per cent interest repayable over 40 years on the an- 
nuity methed was finalised during the year and loan repayment 
commenced. 


86 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Rent income for 1959 showed an increase of $24 millions over 
that of the preceding year and as at 31st December, 1959, some 
21,700 housing tenancies and 1,700 land tenancies were being ad- 
ministered. Rates payable on Trust properties in the City Area 
were increased from 34 to 36 per cent. The total rates paid amount- 
ed to some $4.5 millions which, together with loan charges of $6 
millions, made serious inroads into the Trust’s revenue and revenue 
balances. Although economy measures were taken to reduce admin- 
istrative expenditure, little could be done to cut down the charges 
for rates and loan repayments. 


Improvement 


The statutory improvement rate for 1959 was levied by the Local 
Authority at 2 per cent of the annual value of houses, buildings, 
lands and tenements in Singapore, except for those areas exempted 
from this rate. An equivalent Government contribution was pay- 
able under the Singapore Improvement Ordinance and the total 
statutory income from these sources was approximately $3.5 
millions. 


SINGAPORE HARBOUR BOARD 


The Singapore Harbour Board is constituted under the Ports 
Ordinance and consists of a Chairman (who is also General Man- 
ager) and not more than ten other members comprising representa- 
tives of the shipping and trading communities and one senior Gov- 
ernment official. 

The accounts of the Board are audited by the Government 
auditors. The Board is required to be self-supporting and is em- 
powered under the provisions of the Ordinance to frame scales of 
charges in respect of the services provided within the area under its 
control. These charges, together with rents from lands and build- 
ings, constitute the main revenue of the Board. Any surplus which 
remains from revenue after expenditure has been met is devoted to 
the improvement and development of the existing facilities. 

The Board is possibly unique as a port authority in that it not 
only employs directly all labour engaged in working cargo both on 
the wharves and on vessels, but it also owns and operates two 
docKyards capable of effecting major repairs to vessels of the largest 
class. It employs approximately 10,000 persons the majority of 
whom are housed on the Board’s estate and maintains a police 
force numbering 338 together with a well equipped fire brigade. 
_ It has been the policy of the Board to charge rates as low as 
are compatible with the proper maintenance of its assets and the 


PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION 87 


grant of increased living standards to its employees, and the extent 
to which this policy has been successful may be gauged from the 
fact that, compared with 1949, the aggregate net registered tonnage 
of vessels berthed and the total tonnage of cargo handled have 
increased year by year. 

Since 1949 over $40 millions have been expended from reserve 
funds in betterment and development of the Port facilities, in- 
cluding $10.4 millions on the construction of a new graving dock. 
The biggest single project at present undertaken by the Board is 
the construction of the first phase of the East Wharf Development 
Scheme which will provide four additional deep water berths, at an 
estimated cost of $13.6 millions. 


COLONIAL DEVELOPMENT AND WELFARE 
SCHEMES 


Under the 1945 and 1950 Colonial Development and Welfare 
Acts, the allocation to Singapore was $7,324,286. Under the 1955 
Act, Singapore was given no territorial allocation, but unspent 
balances from the previous allocation are still available. There re- 
mained from these, to be specifically allotted, a sum of approxi- 
mately $475,184, and the question of utilising this balance was 
still under consideration. In addition, applications could be made 
for assistance from the general reserve of £12,500,000 which the 
Secretary of State had set aside for new Schemes outside the alloca- 
tions made under the 1955 Act. Finally, Singapore could apply for 
assistance from the central allocation for research, higher educa- 
tion, surveys, etc. 

During 1959, the following schemes were in operation: 


Outer Ring Road 


_ The section of Outer Ring Road between Holland Road and 
Queen’s Circus was completed and opened to traffic. Work on the 
second section from Queen’s Circus to Alexandra Road could not 
be proceeded with owing to changes of senior staff and the short- 
age of funds. An application for additional funds has been made 
and it is expected that work will be resumed in 1961 when the 
application is approved. 


Boys’ Hostels, two 

The work which was started in 1958 on the Boys’ Hostel at 
Bukit Batok was completed in 1959. The total completed cost of 
the project was $161,000. The second Boys’ Hostel was not started 
due to difficulties in obtaining a suitable site. 


88 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


CURRENCY AND BANKING 
CURRENCY 


Under a Currency Agreement between the Governments of the 
Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, North Borneo and 
Brunei, which became effective on Ist January, 1952, the Malaya 
and British Borneo Currency Commissioners have the sole right to 
issue notes and coin in these five territories and, as a backing for 
the currency, they manage a Currency Fund consisting of sterling 
securities. The Board consists of five members—the Minister for 
Finance, Singapore, the Minister of Finance, Federation of Malaya, 
one member appointed jointly by the Governors of Sarawak, North 
Borneo and the British Resident, Brunei while the remaining two 
are appointed by the participating governments acting in concert. 
The Chairman of the Commissioners is the Minister for Finance, 
Singapore. 

Currency issued by the Board is the only legal tender in the 
State. The standard unit of currency is the Malayan dollar, which 
is on the sterling exchange standard and fixed at 2s. 4d. This cur- 
rency is also legal tender throughout the Federation of Malaya, 
Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunel. 

The following types of currency are issued and were in circula- 
tion as legal tender during the year: 

(i) currency notes bearing the inscription of the Board of Com- 
missioners of Currency, Malaya, and dates not earlier than 
Ist July, 1941 in denominations of one, five, ten, twenty and 
ney for the payment of any amount not exceeding two 


(ii) currency notes bearing the inscription of the Board of Com- 
missioners of Currency, Malaya, and dates not earlier than 
ist July, 1941 in denominations of one, five, ten, fifty, one 
hundred, one thousand and ten thousand dollars, for the 
payment of any amount; 

(iii) currency notes bearing the inscription of the Board of Com- 
missioners of Currency, Malaya and British Borneo, and 
bearing the effigy of Her Majesty the Queen and dated 2|1st 
March, 1953 in denominations of one, five, ten, fifty, one 
hundred, one thousand and ten thousand dollars for the 
payment of any amount; 

(iv) cupro-nickel coin in denominations of five, ten, twenty and fifty 
cents, for any amount not exceeding two dollars; 

(v) copper and bronze coin in denominations of one quarter and 
one half of one cent, and one cent, for any amount not 
exceeding two dollars. 


All notes and cupro-nickel coins mentioned above were issued in- 
to circulation after September 1945; copper and bronze coins have 
been issued both before and since the war. 


PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION 89 


No figures of actual circulation can be given for Singapore alone. 
The figures given below show total currency in circulation on 31st 
December, 1959 in the several territories, including currency which 
may be circulating in adjoining countries. 


Notes i 
Cupro-nickel coins 
Nickel coins 


Copper and bronze coins 


$ 
1,077,726,238 
43,525,104 
107,000 
4,189,107 


1,125,547,449 


Currency circulation increased by $131.8 millions on account of 
sterling remittances and withdrawals of demonetised pre-invasion 
notes and silver coins. Total sterling purchases during the year 1959 


amounted to £15.9 millions. 


BANKING 
During the year 1959, one new bank (Far Eastern Bank Ltd.) 


was established in Singapore. 


’ Banks transacting business in Singapore during 1959 were as 


follows: 


1. American Express Co. Inc. 


2. Asia Commercial Banking 
Corporation Ltd. 


3. Ban Hin Lee Bank Ltd.* 

4. Bangkok Bank Ltd. 

5. Bank of Negara Indonesia. 

6. Bank of America. 

7. Bank of Canton Ltd. 

8. Bank of China. 

9. Bank of East Asia Ltd. 

10. Bank of India Ltd. 

11. Bank of Singapore Ltd.f 

12. Bank of Tokyo Ltd. 

13. Banque de |’Indochine 

14. Chartered Bank. 

15. Chung Khiaw Bank Ltd. 

16. Eastern Bank Ltd. 

17. Far Eastern Bank Ltd. 

18. First National City Bank Ltd. 
* Head Office in Penang. 


19. 


20. 
21. 
22: 


23. 
24. 
25. 
26. 
27. 
28. 
29. 
30. 


31. 
32. 
33. 
34. 


t Bank incorporated in Singapore. 


Hongkong & Shanghai 
Banking Corporation. 


Indian Bank Ltd. 
Indian Overseas Bank Ltd. 


Industrial & Commercial Bank 
Ltd.t 


Kwantung Provincial Bank 
Kwong Lee Bank Ltd. 

Lee Wah Bank Ltd.f 

Lombard Banking (Far East) Ltd. 
Mercantile Bank Ltd. 

Nationale Handelsbank N.V. 
Netherlands Trading Society 


Oversea-Chinese Banking 
Corporation Ltd.f 


Overseas Union Bank Ltd.f 
Sze Hai Tong Bank Ltd.f 
United Chinese Bank Ltd.t 
United Commercial Bank Ltd. 


90 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANK 


The number of depositors in the Singapore Post Office Savings 
Bank on 31st December, 1959, was 198,669 as compared with 
189,619 on 31st December, 1958, an increase of 4.7 per cent. Dur- 
ing the year 15,143 new accounts were opened and 6,093 accounts 
were closed. 

The number of transactions for the year increased by .5 per cent 
from 362,967 in 1958 to 364,820. 

At the end of the year the total amount standing to the credit 
of depositors, exclusive of interest, was $42,730,803 as compared 
with $46,341,098 on 31st December, 1958. The excess of with- 
drawals over deposits during the year was $4,512,882 as compared 
with $2,617,358 in 1958. Deposits totalled $21,033,376 compared 
with $23,577,491 in 1958. Withdrawals totalled $25,546,258 -com- 
pared with $26,194,849 in 1958. 

In 1959 the number of accounts opened exceeded the number 
of accounts closed by approximately 760 per mensem and the num- 
ber of deposit transactions exceeded the number of withdrawal 
transactions by approximately 4,500 per mensem. There was, how- 
ever, an excess of withdrawals over deposits of $4,512,882 for the 
year, a monthly average of over $376,000. This trend was very 
much in evidence in recent years. Many associations, societies, etc. 
had withdrawn their funds from the Bank apparently for invest- 
ment in fixed deposits at higher rates of interest with commercial 
banks and the majority of the accounts closed were of many years’ 
standing and consequently the sum of money involved were larger 
than those deposited in the new accounts. The table below shows 
the changes that have affected the revenue of the Bank since 1955. 

Through the Schools Savings Scheme, school children deposited 
$39,042 during the year. 

Members of the Armed Forces continued to take advantage 
of the Forces Savings Scheme whereby deductions were made from 
their pay and credited to their Savings Bank accounts. By this 
method members of Armed Forces deposited $487,909 during the 
year as compared with $340,981 in 1958. 


Note:—All 1959 figures are provisional. 


SINGAPORE 
Details for the Years 1956 1957 1958 1959 
No. of new accounts opened ee 16,734 17,252 16,806 15,143 
No. of new accounts closed . es 5,252 5,166 5,423 6,093 
No. of Transactions—_DEPOSITS 205,113 206,195 213,979 206,219 
No. of Transactions—WITHDRAWALS 129,081 137,951 148,988 158,601 
Amount deposited .. $25,073,457 22,975,609 23,577, 491 21,033,376 
Amount withdrawn 3 .. $29,051,948 30,202,299 26, 194, 849 25,546,258 
Total No. of Depositors 166,150 178,236 189,619 198,669 


Total amount to credit of Depositors (plus 
provisional interest for 1959) .. $54,972,487 48,958,456 47,243,685 43,736,826 


PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION 


BANK RATES OF EXCHANGE 


91 


The Malayan Exchange Banks’ Association’s best agreed rates 
on London throughout the year and the highs and lows of rates 
on other countries are shown below: 


On London 
On London 
On London . 
On London 
On London 
On London 
On London 
On London 
On Australia 


On New Zealand ... 


On Burma 

On India 

On Ceylon 

On Pakistan 
On Hong Kong 
On US.A. 


On Canada 


2-1-59 
15-1-59 
11-3-59 
19-3-59 
28-5-59 
29-6-59 
6-11-59 

31-12-59 
Highest 
Lowest 


Highest 
Lowest 


Highest 
Lowest 
Highest 
Lowest 
Highest 
Lowest 
Highest 
Lowest 
Highest 
Lowest 
Highest 
Lowest 


Highest 
Lowest 


Bank’s selling rate Banks’ buying 
for telegraphic 
transfers or on 


demand drafts 
2/3 31/32 
2/4 
2/3 31/32 
2/4 
2/3 31/32 
2/4 
2/4 1/32 
2/4 1/32 
2/10 31/32 
2/10 15/16 
2/4 
2/3 31/32 
155 5/8 
155 3/8 
155 5/8 
155 3/8 
155 
154 3/4 
155 5/8 
155 1/4 
53 3/16 
53 11/16 
32 13/16 
32 ©5/8 
32 
30 7/8 


rate for 
telegraphic 
transfers 
2/4 3/32 
2/4 1/8 
2/4 3/32 
2/4 1/8 
2/4 3/32 
2/4 1/8 
2/4 5/32 
2/4 5/32 
2/11 11/32 
2/11 9/32 
156 5/8 
156 1/4 
156 5/8 
156 1/4 
156 3/8 
156 
156 3/4 
156 3/8 
52 11/16 
53 1/4 
331/16 
32 «7/8 
32 «3/8 
31 3/16 


The Bank of England rate remained unchanged throughout the 
year at 4 per cent. The Malayan Exchange Banks’ Association in- 
terest rates also remained unchanged. Their agreed minimum rates 


were as follows: 


Advances against Government and/or 
Municipal Securities ae 


Clean Advances ... 


Advances against Commodities 


Advances against Stocks and Shares 


Advances aganist Property ... 


Per annum 


5 per cent 
5 per cent 
5 per cent 
54 per cent 
6 per cent 


V LAW AND 
SECURITY 


LEGISLATION 


NTIL THE coming into force of the new Constitution on 

the 3rd June, 1959, the head of the Legal Department in 
Singapore was the Attorney-General who was an official Minister. 
He was also the Public Prosecutor and the adviser to the Govern- 
ment in legal matters. After the coming into force of the new 
constitution the functions of the Attorney-General were taken over 
partly by the Minister for Labour and Law and partly by the State 
Advocate-General. The State Advocate-General is the Public 
Prosecutor and has also been appointed the Permanent Secretary 
for legal departments. 

The enacted laws of Singapore fall into two parts: the principal 
legislation known as Ordinances and the subsidiary legislation 
made under them known as rules, regulations or bye-laws. 

The Revised Edition of the Laws in Singapore, 1955, in eight 
volumes was completed in early 1956 and brought into force on the 
Ist July, 1956. Annual Supplements for the years 1956 and 1957 
have been issued. 

Seventy-five Ordinances were enacted in 1959. Of these 38 were 
enacted before the coming into force of the new Constitution and 
37 were enacted after the coming into force of the new Constitution. 
Of the 38 Ordinances enacted before the coming into force of the 
new Constitution, one was an appropriation Ordinance, one was 
a repealing Ordinance, 22 were amending Ordinances and 13 were 
new Ordinances. Of the 37 Ordinances enacted after the comjng 
into force of the new Constitution, one was a supplementary appro- 
priation Ordinance, four were Ordinances to transfer powers, one 
was an Ordinance to invalidate proceedings of the City Council, 
one was an Ordinance to restrict proceedings of the court, 19 
were amending Ordinances and 11 were new Ordinances. 

The following are the most important of the Ordinances enacted 
during the year: 


LAW AND SECURITY 93 


The Pioneer Industries (Relief from Income Tax) Ordinance, 1959 


The object of this Ordinance was to encourage the investment 
of capital, local or foreign in industries which were not carried on 
in Singapore on a scale adequate to the economic needs of Singa- 
pore. Provision was made for relief from income tax on a pioneer 
industry’s profits for a period of five years from the date when 
production in marketable quantities commence. 


The Industrial Expansion Ordinance, 1959 

This Ordinance which has not yet been brought into force, made 
provision for the encouragement of the expansion of existing in- 
dustries where such expansion would be of economic benefit to 
Singapore. Provision was made for an allowance for income tax 
purposes of new capital expenditure incurred by an approved enter- 
prise. 


The Customs (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959 


This Ordinance extended the power to impose customs duties 
to all goods. 


The Nursing Homes and Maternity Homes Registration Ordinance, 
1959 
This Ordinance provided for the registration, control and sup- 
pression of premises used for the reception of sick or convalescent 
persons and of premises used for the reception of pregnant women 
or of women immediately after child birth. 


The Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Ordinance, 1959 

This Ordinance introduced into Singapore the provisions of the 
Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act, 1943, and made detailed 
provisions for the adjustment of the rights and liabilities of parties 
to frustrated contracts. 


The Services Lands Board Ordinance, 1959 

This Ordinance established as a corporate body a Services Lands 
Board to hold land for the Service departments of the United King- 
dom Government in Singapore. 


The Bankruptcy (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959 


This Ordinance made a number of amendments based on the 
United Kingdom Bankruptcy Acts of 1914 and 1926 to make the 
administration of the Bankruptcy Ordinance more effective. It also 
provided that contributions payable by a bankrupt as an employer 


94 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


under the Central Provident Fund Ordinance during the twelve 
months before the date of the receiving order should rank as 
priority debts in the distribution of the property of the bankrupt. 


The Housing and Development Board Ordinance, 1959 


This Ordinance set up a Housing and Development Board to 
take over the housing and development functions of the Singapore 
Improvement Trust. 


The Planning Ordinance, 1959 


This Ordinance transferred the functions of the Singapore Im- 
provement Trust in relation to planning and town improvement 
to a planning department of the Government. 


The Control of Manufacture Ordinance, 1959 


This Ordinance made provision for the control and licensing of 
manufacture for commercial purposes. It gave power to regulate 
the setting up of industries on a planned basis and to protect the 
local manufacturer. 


The Civil Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959 


This Ordinance amended the Civil Law Ordinance to provide 
that in assessing the compensation payable to the family of a person 
for loss occasioned by death no account shall be taken of any 
sum paid or payable on the death of the deceased under any con- 
tract of insurance and to enable damages to be awarded in respect 
of funeral expenses. 


The Federal Lands Commissioner Ordinance, Federation of Malaya 
(Incorporation) Ordinance 


This Ordinance incorporated the Federal Lands Commissioner 
of the Federation of Malaya and provided for the transfer to the 
Corporation of all the properties in Singapore formerly vested in 
the Chief Secretary, Federation of Malaya. 


The Adoption of Children Ordinance, 1959 


This Ordinance gave the court power to make an adoption order 
authorizing the adoption of an infant by the father or mother of 
the infant, either alone or jointly with his or her spouse. It also 
gave power to the court where a joint application is made for the 
adoption of an infant by two spouses and where one of the spouses 
and the infant are within the prohibited degrees of consaguinity, 
to make an order authorizing the two spouses jointly to adopt the 
infant, notwithstanding the fact that the other spouse is less than 
twenty-one years older than the infant. 


LAW AND SECURITY 95 


The Immigration (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959 

This Ordinance restricted the right of entry into Singapore with- 
out a Pass or Permit to citizens of Singapore and citizens of the 
Federation. It gave power to the Minister to prohibit by order 
any person other than a citizen of Singapore, from entering Singa- 
pore. The issue of entry permits and re-entry permits was made 
discretionary. Power was given to the Minister when making an 
order exempting any person or class of persons from the Immi- 
gration Ordinance to impose conditions. 


The Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections (Amendment) 
Ordinance, 1959 

This Ordinance amended the Singapore Legislative Assembly 
Elections Ordinance to implement certain recommendations of the 
Report of the Commission of Inquiry into corrupt or undesirable 
practices at elections. The Ordinance also introduced compulsory 
voting and provided for the imposjtion of sanctions against electors 
on the electoral registers who fail to vote at an election. Provi- 
sion was made for age and residence qualification for membership 
of the Legislative Assembly under the new Constitution. 


The Nanyang University Ordinance, 1959 

This Ordinance incorporated by Ordinance the Nanyang Univer- 
sity, which was formerly a limited liability company. It also pro- 
vided for a limited Government participation in the administration 
of the University by representation on the University Council. 


The Minister for Finance (Incorporation) Ordinance, 1959 
This Ordinance which was originally enacted as the Financial 
Secretary (Incorporation) Ordinance, 1959, incorporated the Finan- 
cial Secretary (now the Minister for Finance) and provided for the 
vesting in the corporation of all the properties formerly vested 
in the Chief Secretary under the Chief Secretary (Incorporation) 
Ordinance. 
The Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance, 1959 
This Ordinance which followed the provisions of the United 
Kingdom Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act, 1933, 
as amended by the Administration of Justice Act, 1956, provided 
for the registration and enforcement of foreign judgments. 


The Estate Duty (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959 

This Ordinance provided that gifts of property made within five 
years (instead of three years as formerly) of the death of the de- 
ceased shall be deemed to form part of the property of the deceased 
at his death for the purpose of liability to estate duty. It also 


96 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


made it the duty of persons accountable for estate duty to submit 
estate duty accounts within six months of the death of the deceased. 


The Singapore Citizenship (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959 

This Ordinance made the necessary amendments to the Singa- 
pore Citizenship Ordinance consequent on the enactment of the 
State of Singapore Act, 1958, so as to confer the status of a Com- 
monwealth citizen and a British subject on a citizen of Singapore. 
The provisions relating to treating periods of absence from Singa- 
pore as periods of residence jn Singapore was amended to give 
the Minister a complete discretion in respect of any length of 
absence exceeding six months. 


The Laws of Singapore (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance, 
1959 

This Ordinance made a number of amendments to the laws of 
Singapore consequential on the enactment of the Singapore (Con- 
stitution) Order in Council, 1958. The most important of these 
amendments was an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code 
to provide that while the decision to request the assistance of 
British forces in aid of civil authorities would rest with the Min- 
isters in Singapore, Her Majesty’s Government in the United King- 
dom would retain ultimate discretion whether, how and to what 
extent to accede to such request. 


The Financial Procedure Ordinance, 1959 
This Ordinance provided for the financial and accounting pro- 
cedure of the State of Singapore. 


The City Council (Suspension and Transfer of Functions) Ordin- 
ance, 1959 
This Ordinance provided that the City Council shall cease to be 
responsible for the local government of the City of Singapore and 
transferred the powers of the City Council to the Minister. 


The Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections (Amendment No. 
2) Ordinance, 1959 ' 

This Ordinance provided for the appointment of Parliamentary 
Secretaries and also provided that they shall not be deemed to 
be holders of the public office for the purposes of Part V of the 
Singapore (Constjtution) Order in Council, 1958. 


The Audit Ordinance, 1959 
This Ordinance provided for the terms of service and duties of 


the Director of Audit and sets out the procedure for the audit of 
Government and other public accounts. 


LAW AND SECURITY 97 


The Factories (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959 


| This Ordinance extended the definition of factory to include 
certain premises in which less than ten persons are employed, if 
for example mechanical power is used in such premises. 


The Development Loan (Local) Ordinance, 1959 


This Ordinance provided for the raising of loans for develop- 
ment purposes in Singapore. 


The Development Fund Ordinance, 1959 


This Ordinance constitutes a Development Fund and provides 
for the application of the Fund for capital development in Singa- 
pore. 


The Trade Unions (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959 


This Ordinance gave power to refuse registration to and to 
cancel the registration of, yellow and splinter unions. 


The Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) (Amendment No. 2) 
Ordinance, 1959 


This Ordinance extended the operation of the Ordinance for 
a further period of five years and gave the Minister power, in 
appropriate cases, instead of or after making a detention order, 
to make an order directing the person to be under police super- 
vision for a period not exceeding three years. Provision was made 
for the control of the activities of persons under police supervision 
and it was provided that any person subject to police supervision 
who is convicted of any of the scheduled offences shall be liable 
to double the maximum term of imprjsonment for the offence and 
also to caning. — 


The Limitation Ordinance, 1959 


This Ordinance enacts for Singapore the provisions of the 
English Limitation Act of 1939 relating to the limitation of acts 
and arbitrations. 


The Moneylenders Ordinance, 1959 


This Ordinance provided for the registration and licensing of 
moneylenders. It provided that in every case where the interest 
exceeds 18 per cent per annum in the case of unsecured loans or 
12 per cent per annum in the case of a secured loan the interest 
shall be deemed excessive and the moneylending transactions harsh 
and unconscionable. 


98 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The Enemy Property Ordinance, 1959 

This Ordinance enacted for Singapore the provisions of the 
United Kingdom Enemy Property Act, 1953, and was designed to 
indemnify persons who acting in good faith dealt with property 
erroneously assumed to be enemy property. It also provided for the 
disposal of income from enemy property and in respect of patents 
and copyrights infringed owing to the war. 


The Massage Establishments Ordinance, 1959 
This Ordinance provided for the licensing and control of estab- 
lishments used for massage, baths or other similar treatment. 


The State Advocate-General (Transfer of Powers) Ordinance, 1959 

This Ordinance provided for the transfer of powers relating to 
civil proceedings and other professional legal functions from the 
Minister to the State Advocate-General. 


The Maintenance (Facilities for Enforcement) Ordinance, 1959 

This Ordinance gave power to the court to make orders attach- 
ing sums failing to be paid by way of wages, salary or other earn- 
ings or by way of pension for the purpose of enforcing mainten- 
ance orders in favour of wives and children. 


The Cinematograph Film Hire Duty Ordinance, 1959 

This Ordinance provided for the levy of a cinematograph film 
hire duty leviable on the gross receipts derived from the renting 
of cinematograph films which are released for exhibition. 


The Preservation of Public Security (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959 


This Ordinance extended the operation of the Preservation of 
Public Security Ordinance, 1955, for a further period of five years. 
It removed the provisions for an appeal to an Appeal Tribunal 
and provided instead for a reference to an Advisory Committee. 


The Common Gaming Houses (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959 


- This Ordinance gave power to the Minister to declare any game, 
methods, device, scheme or competition to be a lottery and en- 
abled a police officer not below the rank of Sergeant to give pre- 
sumptive evidence that a document is a lottery ticket or an account, 
memorandum or record of stakes or wagers in relation to a lottery. 


The Minor Offences (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959 

This Ordinance made it an offence to have without lawful author- 
ity or reasonable excuse any knife or offensive weapon or any ex- 
plosive or explosive substance and made illegal the possession, 


LAW AND SECURITY 99 


manufacture, sale, loan or hire of any flick knife or gravity knife. 
It also amended the law relating to soliciting in public places. 


The Transfer of Powers (No. 2) Ordinance, 1959 

These Ordinances provided for the transfer of the powers of 
the Governor in Council and of the Governor to the Yang di- 
Pertuan Negara and to the Minister. 


The Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959 

This Ordinance amended Part VIII of the Merchant Shipping 
Ordinance which relates to the liability of shipowners to give effect 
to the International Convention relating to hability of owners of 
sea-going ships which was signed at Brussels on 10th October, 
1957. 


COURTS 


Courts of Law are established under the constitutional instru- 
ments of the State as amplified in local ordinances. The judges, 
magistrates and court officials collectively form the Judicial 
Department under the Chief Justice. 

Civil Litigation 

There were two Civil District Courts in 1959. Each Court is 
presided over by a District Judge who is empowered to try cases 
of civil nature in which the amount in dispute does not exceed 
$1,000. Cases involving larger sums are heard in the High Court 
which has unlimited jurjsdiction and is presided over by the Chief 
Justice or by a Puisne Judge. There were in 1959 a Chief Justice 
and five Puisne Judges. The High Court also hears appeals from 
Civil District Courts. Appeals from the High Court are heard by 
the Court of Appeal composed of three Judges. A further appeal 
in certain cases lies to the Privy Councjl. These Courts are con- 
stituted under the Courts Ordinance, which also provides for 
Rules Committees to prescribe rules for the detailed conduct of 
business. The Court of Appeal and the High Court in both its civil 
and criminal jurisdiction are collectively described as the Supreme 
Court. 

Most civil actions are begun by Writs of Summons. The issue 
of Writs of Summons and other processes forms a large part of 
the work of the Courts of Civil jurisdiction and their registries. 

During the year there was a marked increase in civil litigation. 
1,899 Suits were instituted in the High Court in 1959 as compared 
with 1,694 Civil Sujts in 1958. However, the number of cases set 
down for trial during the year was 496 which was almost the same 


100 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


as that for the previous year. The period of waiting for a Civil 
Suit to be heard has, however, been slightly longer than in the 
previous year. On an average Civil Suits were being heard in the 
High Court within ten months of their having been set down for 
trial. The volume of work in the Civil District Courts was almost 
the same as in the previous year. A little over 5,000 actions were 
instituted during the year in the Civil District Courts. | 


Criminal Courts 


There were altogether 12 Criminal District and Magistrates’ 
Courts constituted under the Courts Ordinance at the end of 1959, 
and one Juvenile Court constituted under the Children and Young 
Persons Ordinance. Magistrates’ Courts are presided over by mag- 
istrates, with powers which in general extend to the award of six 
months’ imprisonment and $1,000 fine. District Courts are presided 
over by District Judges who may impose sentences up to three 
years’ imprisonment and $3,000 fine. There are exceptions to the 
above general rules. For administrative convenience, two Mag- 
istrates’ Courts specialised in road traffic offences and another 
specialised in offences concerning unauthorised building, hawking 
and other breaches of the Municipal Ordinance. A special pro- 
cedure is laid down for the Juvenile Court which tries offenders 
below the age of 16 and may send them to approved schools, 
approved homes and places of safety but not to prison. The Juveni'e 
Court jis housed separately from the other Criminal Courts. 

Graver offences are tried in the High Court at monthly Assizes 
after preliminary inqury in a Magistrate’s Court. At the Assizes 
a Judge of the High Court sitting with a jury of seven has un-. 
limited jurisdiction. The High Court has power on appeal to alter 
the findings, sentences and other orders of the District and Mag- 
istrates’ Courts. For cases heard in the High Court an appeal lies 
to the Court of Criminal Appeal consisting of three or more Judges, 
and in certain cases, a further appeal may be made to the Judicial 
Committee of the Privy Council. 

The conduct of business in the Courts in criminal cases is 
governed by the Criminal Procedure Code. Crimes broadly speak- 
ing, fall into two categories, seizable and non-seizable. Non- 
seizable crimes are the less serious ones for which the offender 
may not ordinarily be arrested without a warrant. 

During 1959 Criminal Assizes sat continuously throughout the 
year. In January, April and December, Assizes were held simul- 
taneously in two separate Courts. In all 136 cases involving 188. 


LAW AND SECURITY 101 


accused were heard in the Assizes in 1959 as compared with 106 
cases involving 137 accused in the previous year. 27.6 per cent of 
the persons tried were for offences against the person, 57 per cent 
were for robberies and the remaining 15.4 per cent were for mis- 
cellaneous offences against property such as cheating, forgery and 
allied offences. 

In 1957, 2,417 adults were dealt with for offences against the 
person and 1,342 adults were dealt with for offences against pro- 
perty in the Criminal District and Magistrates’ Courts. The cor- 
responding figures for the previous year were 2,591 adults for 
offences against the person and 1,250 adults for offences against 
property. During the year 355 children and young persons were 
dealt with in the Juvenile Court as against 326 in 1958. 


Coroner's Court 

There were two Coroner’s Courts in 1959. Under the Criminal 
Procedure Code a report must be made to the Coroner in cases 
where a death appears to have occurred in a sudden, violent, un- 
natural or unknown manner. In every case of death of any person 
detained in a prison or lock-up, or of any person who suffers. 
capital punishment, the Corner is required to hold an inquest with 
jurors to ascertain the cause of death. In other cases an inquiry 
without jurors is permitted. There were 20 inquests with jurors and 
973 inquiries without jurors in 1959, as compared with 14 inquests 
with jurors and 887 inquiries without jurors in 1958. The Coroner 
may require the Police to initiate further investigations if he finds 
that a death has occurred as a result of criminal act. He has also 
certain powers of arrest. 


BANKRUPTCY AND COMPANY LIQUIDATION 


A notable feature of the year under review was that Receiving 
Orders made against wage-earners showed a decrease from previous. 
years and in fact were about half the number for the year 1957. 

Trade bankruptcies showed a slight increase as against the pre- 
vious year’s figures. Comparative figures for 1959 and the two pre- 
ceding years are given below: 


1957 1958 1959 
Receiving Orders made— 
1. Wage-earners a ae 378 233 196 
2. Traders as diese 63 46 52 
$ $ $ 


Liabilities of bankrupts (approximately) 4,231,637 3,370,030 3,237,118 
Estimated value of assets ... ... 328,890 548,676 258,902. 


102 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The 52 businesses which went bankrupt in 1959 were not con- 
fined to any particular type of trade but were fairly representative 
of all the small businesses carried on in Singapore. General mer- 
chants and sundry provisions shops formed the largest group (6) 
with textile dealers (5) next and the other businesses consisted of 
building contractors (3), dealers in old newspapers and paper bags 
(3), watch dealers (2), radio dealers (2), ship chandlers (2), printing 
press (1), sugar merchant (1), leather goods (2), motor-cycle dealers 
(1), timber dealer (2), fish dealers (1) and other similar trades. 


Compulsory Liquidation of Companies 

There was a marked increase in the number of limited com- 
panies which were wound up by the court during 1959 as com- 
pared with previous years. Nine companies consisting of firms deal- 
ing in rubber (3), advertising (1), radio (1), mines (1), building con- 
tractor (1), import and export (1) and property and shares (1) 
were unable to pay their creditors and were forced into liquidation. 

The estimated total liabilities of eight of these companies are 
approximately $2,704,000 and estimated value of assets amounts 
to $530,000. The figures for one company are not yet available. 
The giving of credit facilities to companies greater than is justified 
by the financial position of the company appears to be the basic 
cause of the liabilities outstanding when such companies become 
eventually insolvent. 


PUBLIC TRUSTEE 


When a person dies his or her assets, apart from personal effects, 
should be distributed among the beneficiaries according to the law 
of distribution applicable in each case. 

To obtain money in a deceased’s bank account or to sell landed 
property which was owned by the deceased it is necessary to obtain 
Letters of Administration or a Grant of Probate. 

If the assets left by the deceased are of no great value the cost 
of applying for Letters of Administration or a Grant of Probate 
may reduce the money left for distribution by a disproportionate 
amount. 

The Public Trustee was appointed to administer these small 
estates so that the beneficiaries can obtain the shares due to them. 
Where the value of the assets left by the deceased is below $2,000 
the procedure is simplified thereby reducing the cost of adminis- 
tration. wee 3 


LAW AND SECURITY 103 


The Public Trustee may also agree to administer large estates: 
and jis at present the administrator of a number of such estates, 
one of which has assets valued at over $1 million. 

During 1959 the Public Trustee received a further 311 estates: 
to administer and in addition to this, the Central Provident Fund. 
Board transferred to the Public Trustee for distribution the con- 
tributions of 285 members who had died without having nominated. 
a trustee for their Central Provident Fund money or where the: 
person nominated was under 18 years of age. 

The total liquid assets held by the Public Trustee in trust for 
the beneficiaries to 388 estates as at the end of 1959 amounted to 
$2,540,000 and the estimated value of other assets such as houses: 
and land was $913,000. 

As at the end of 1959 $2,029,442.69 of the money held by the: 
Public Trustee in trust for beneficiaries was invested in a Common 
Fund and interest at the rate of 34 per cent per annum is credited. 
to each estate whose funds have been invested. 


SOCIETIES 


During the year 86 societies were registered and 20 granted. 
exemption under the Societies Ordinance. On the other hand 49 
societies were dissolved under section 17 (1) and 60 were declared. 
to have ceased to exist under section 6 (2) of the Ordinance. The 
total numbers of societies on the register at the close of the year 
were 1,173 registered and 997 exempted. 


CRIME 


Statistics for crime reported to the Police again show a deteriora- 
tion. But considering that Singapore is a city and a port, that it 
is densely populated and is cosmopolitan, that it has very open. 
houses and that it suffers from a fair amount of unemployment. 
and a great deal of secret society gangsterism, with all its attend- 
ant evils, the crime situation is not abnormal compared with pre-. 
sent day world standards. 

At the beginning of the year it was already clear that the special 
detention powers adopted in August 1958 to deal with the crim- 
inal influence of the secret societies were not having any lasting 
effect upon the situation. Detention without punishment or any 
form of compulsory work proved to be a hollow deterrent and. 
ring leaders were replaced as fast as they were detained. Meanwhile 
those under detention in enforced idleness were merely becoming: 
more hardened cases. 


104 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


In June the newly elected P.A.P. Government at once introduced 
a much more severe policy towards the licensing of places of amuse- 
ment, the supervision of places which had become centres of vice, 
and the censorship of films and publications. After a careful study 
of the situation it introduced new legislation for the control of 
hotels, massage establishments and gaming, and it amended the 
special detention powers to provide an alternative of police super- 
vision on conditions, including a curfew, which if broken would 
result in a minimum punitive sentence of one year’s imprisonment. 
Before giving wide application to this last amendment Government 
proclaimed a period from 16th November to 3rd December, 1959 
during which persons involved in secret society activities, who had 
been drawn into them agajnst their will, could come forward to 
the State Advocate-General, clear themselves and evade further 
trouble. A large number of people availed themselves of this offer 
but they produced little evidence and a few of them had been 
currently active. This offer, however, had a good psychological 
effect and there has been little public sympathy for those sub- 
sequently detained or placed on special police supervision. 

By the end of the year some improvement was discernable, the 
total number of secret societies having dropped from 234 in the 
first half of the year to 168 in the second half as compared with 
a total of 334 for 1958. 276 suspects were under detention and 
187 were under police supervision. The Secret Societies Branch 
has charged 721 persons in Court for a variety of offences which 
include 221 persons for robbery, 165 for extortion, 9 for posses- 
sion of firearms, 17 for possession of offensive weapons and 24 
for abduction. A record quantity of offensive weapons was seized 
which included 257 bottles and bulbs containing acid. A total 
of 44 persons was registered as suspected persons of unlawful 
societies by the Registrar of Societies. This Branch recovered 17 
revolvers and 6 pistols as compared with the recovery of 2 re- 
volvers and 3 pistols in 1958. 

Increased pressure upon organised secret society crime has un- 
fortunately had the effect of forcing participants to resort to other 
forms of more indiscriminate crime such as street robberies, house- 
breakings and thefts of vehicles, etc., the figures for which are all 
higher than in previous years. 

_ Two noteworthy trends have been the great increase in theft of 
motor vehicles from streets and a serious increase in the use of 
corrosive substances during attacks on persons or property. 598 
motor vehicles have been stolen during the year representing an 
increase of 181 over the figure for 1958. 309 vehicles have been 


.. LAW.AND SECURITY 105 


recovered. There have been 17 cases of the use of corrosive sub- 
stance causing hurt during the year as compared with 11 for 1958. 

The number of murder cases has risen by 12 to a total of 50 
for the year. Seven of these were due to secret society clashes. 
Thirty-five of them have been solved but in only small proportion 
has it been possible to take cases to court. 

The following figures summarise general trends over the past 
four years: 


1959 1958 1957 1956 
Total ‘of offences against Per- 
son and Property ... 13,337 10,927 8,769 8.407 
Per 1,000 population gs 7.50 7.39 5.96 6.66 
Percentage cleared up fuk 19.78 21.02 23.8 25.4 


OTHER TYPES OF CRIME 
Narcotics 
The Narcotics Branch was below strength throughout the year 
because the staff were diverted to secret society duties, but never- 
theless obtained good results in spite of this staff shortage, as 


under: 
1957 1958 1959 


Addicts charged ae is 676 637 1,634 
Implements seized TF ... 3,731 3,509 4,495 
Opium seized in lb. a a 306 2134 165 


Co-nmercial Crime Branch 

The Commercial Crime Branch has investigated 41 cases under 
the Penal Code, 8 cases under the Poison Ordinance, 10 under the 
‘Merchandise Marks Ordinance and conducted 16 miscellaneous 
inquiries. In addition, this Branch carried out 70 inquiries into 
activities of confidence tricksters and gaming swindlers having close 
association with secret societies resulting in the detention of a 
number of these tricksters. This racket was smashed by the end of 
the year. 


Anti-Vice 

The Anti-Vice Branch made a total of 1,025 checks on hotels 
resulting in 57 summonses taken out and fines totalling $6,322 
imposed. At the beginning of the year there were 233 registered 
hotels and Police objections against these hotels resulted in 37 
having their licences cancelled by the Hotels Licensing Board. At 
the end of the year there were in all 191 registered hotels. Thirty- 
three juvenile prostitutes were rescued and handed over to the 
Department of Social Welfare. There were three prosecutions for 
exhibiting obscene films. 


106 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Gambling 


The Gambling Suppression Branch continued unceasing action 
against all forms of gambling; a total of 669 raids were conducted 
as a result of which 50 clubs, on recommendation to the Registrar 
«of Societies under the Society Ordinance, were dissolved for per- 
mitting habitual gaming in their premises. A total of 102 Chap 
Ji Ki lottery cases was taken to Court in which fines totalling 
‘$54,908 were imposed and $11,858 were paid. Out of 135 pro- 
‘secutions involving ‘Character’ lottery fines totalling $92,377 were 
imposed and $72,403 were paid. 330 persons were charged for 
‘gaming in common gaming houses and $2,540 were imposed in 
fines and was paid. 


Property Offences Branch 
The Property Offences Branch has taken action as follows: 


1958 1959 
Checks on Secondhand Dealers ... 6,000 2,178 
Prosecutions of hes es 65 15 
Checks on Pawnshops ote 1,266 522 
Prosecutions of oes a 3 3 


At the end of the year there was a total of 404 secondhand dealers 
licensed and 45 pawnshops. 


Preventive Detention Ordinances 


The Preservation of Public Security Ordinance and the Criminal 
-Law (Temporary Provisions) Ordinance were both renewed. for a 
period of five years as from 21st October, 1959. | 


SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE 


The Commissioner of Police is charged with the direction and 
:administration of the Force and he is assisted by a Deputy Com- 
missioner, who is in administrative command of the Force, and five 
Assistant Commissioners in charge of separate commands which, 
-as they stood at the close of the year, may be summarised as 
follows: 

(1) the Special Branch, under a Director with the rank of 
Deputy Commissioner who commands a specialist staff 
for collecting and collating security intelligence; 

(2) the Areas Command, under a Senior Assistant Commis- 
sioner who has the responsibility for all routine and 
everyday Police duties and for this purpose is in charge 


LAW AND SECURITY 107 


of all uniform branch Police in the eight Divisions with 
their 39 sub-stations and posts, the Communications 
Division, the Guard and Escort Unit and the Volunteer 
Special Constabulary; 


_ (3) the Detachments Command, under an Assistant Commis- 
sioner who is in charge of the specialised mobile reserve 
detachments—the Gurkha Contingent and the Reserve 
Unit—and of the Traffic Branch, the Marine Division, 
which has nine Stations and Posts, the Security Unit, 
the Motor Transport Office and the Dog Unit; 


(4) the Criminal Investigation Department, under an Assistant 
7 Commissioner who is responsible for general criminal 
intelligence and investigation and prosecution of all 

crime for which purpose he has under his command 
centralised record offices and seven branches at H.Q. 

for very serious or specialist types of crime, de-central- 

ised branches in Divisions for all ordinary crime and 

a Court Prosecuting staff; 


. 6 the training and Personnel Command, under an Assistant 

| Commissioner who is in charge of the Training School, 
recruiting, the Advanced Training Unit, the Detective 
Training Unit, Force Education and all personnel 
affairs, including supervision of the Women’s Police 
Contingent. 


The Force is assisted within the precincts of the Naval Base and 
the Harbour Board by small separate Police Forces. 
Also attached to the Headquarters staff are the following: 


_ (i) a Police Secretary, normally a civilian administrative officer 
who is responsible for public relations, estimates and 
management of the civilian staff. Owing to the short- 
age of administrative officers, an Assistant Superinten- 
dent of Police has acted in this post since March 1959; 


(ii) an Organisation and Planning Branch of three Staff Officers 
for special campaigns, internal security exercises, re- 
vision of Orders and the administration of the Quarter- 
master Stores, Force Armament, Arms and Explosives, 
and Weights. and Measures Branches; 


(iti) a financial officer and staff. 


108 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


For major operations, or for combined operations with Military 
Internal Security Forces and Civil Defence, the Force Headquarters 
has a specially designed Combined Operations Control Centre in 
which is accommodated the Communications Division with its cen- 
tralised control of Police radio, telephone and teleprinter communi- 
cations and a 24-hour duty room for everyday emergency calls. 

The chain of command is straightforward and does not require 


illustration. 


The authorised and actual strength of the Force has been as 


follows: 


(a) Main Force— 
Commissioner : 
Deputy Commissioner ... 
Senior Assistant Commis- 

sioner on 
Assistant Commissioner 
Superintendents 
Deputy Superintendents 
Assistant Superintendents 
Chief Inspectors sh 
Inspectors and Probation- 
ary Inspectors 
Sub-Inspectors 
Staff Sergeants 
Sergeants 
Corporals 
Lance Corporals 
Police Constables 
‘Detective Sub-Inspectors 
Detective Staff Sergeants 
Detective Sergeants 
‘Detective Corporals 
‘Detective Constables 
‘Women Inspectors 
‘Women Staff Sergeants ... 
‘Women Sergeants 
‘Women Corporals 
‘Women Constables 


Total 


Ratio to population 


1957 1958 1959 
Aised Actual “eg” Actual “WD” Actual 
1 1 1 1 1 1 
1 1 1 1 1 2 
2 2 2 2 2 1 
3 3 4 3 4 1 
16 10 16 il 16 15 
27 26 27 26 27° «13 
62 36 62 62 63 56 
13 11 13 10 13 5 
307 3040 308-—s—i312—i31s—s«2977 
13 11 13 9 13 8 
52 51 52 42 51 40 
230 206 280 256 #280 = 253 
569 529 569 515 569 531 
406 310 406 313 406 36! 
2,156 1,962 2,156 2,040 2,156 2,143 
15 14 15 13 17 14 
44 41 44 40 46 40 
82 74 82 77 88 81 
169 165 169 159 197 152 
226 223 226 214 #« 236 ~=«©219 
2 2 2 2 2 4 
1 1 1 1 i 1 
8 5 8 5 i024 
15 6 15 8 15 7 
44 45 44 54 44 52 
. 4465 4,039 4,516 4,176 4,578 4,301 
1/364 1/363 1/375" 


LAW AND SECURITY 


1957 1958 
———- Autho- Autho- 
rised Actual rised Actual 
(6) Guard and Escort Unit 
(formerly known as Spe- 
cial Constabulary (Active))— 
Commandant . 1 1 1 | 
' Assistant Commandant ... 1 1 1 — 
Chief Inspector ei I 1 1 1 
Inspectors ... eas 15 15 15 15 
Sergeants... a 48 48 48 47 
Cerporals_... Ne 88 85 88 83 
Lance Corporals oe 73 70 73 69 
Guard Constables sae 748 1,078 734 1,059 
Woman Special Constable — 1 — 1 
Total ... 975 1,300 961 1,276 
(c) Volunteer Special Consta- 
bulary— 
Commandant bee 1 1 1 1 
Deputy Commandant ... 1 1 
Assistant Commandant ... 13 11 13 12 
Chief Inspectors és 19 16 16 16 
Inspectors... a 41 38 38 38 
Staff Sergeants sae 15 8 14 2 
Sergeants... a 152 75 126 62 
Corporals_... Pee 125 94 121 87 
Lance Corporals eis 208 152 206 153 
V.S.C. ses Bee 925 107 944 767 
Women V.S.C. ooo 2 20 1 
Total ... 1,500 1,105 1,500 1,140 


109 
1959 
utho- 
a Actual 
] 1 
I as 
1 1 
11 10 
23 18 
55 4l 
47 57 
686 688 
825 816 
l 1 
1 i 
13 13 
16 11 
38 33 
14 11 
126 68 
121 58 
206 135 
944 714 
20 17 
1,500 1,062 


Included in the main Force are the 316 Inspectors and Other 


Ranks of the Gurkha Contingent. 


There are 75 trained V.S.Cs. on reserve who could, at short 


notice, be called up for active duty. 


110 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


In composition the relative Malay and Chinese proportions of 
the actual strength of the regular Force, the Guard and Escort 
Unit and the Volunteer Special Constabulary can best be seen from 
the following: 


Malays Chinese Others — 
Percent Percent Percent 


Regular Officers oe oP 8 44 48 
Regular Inspectors 2 11 50 39 
Regular Uniform Branch Rank and File 68 11 21 
Regular Plain Clothes Branch Rank and | 

File 15 64 21 
Guard and Escorl Unit... he 90 4 6 
Volunteer Special Constabulary oe 43 38 19 
Of the whole ... ae a 59 22 19 

TRAFFIC 


The licensing and registration of vehicles were, as previously, 
carried out by the Registrar of Vehicles. The following table gives 
the total number of vehicles registered in the State of Singapore 
at the end of 1957, 1958 and 1959: 


MECHANICALLY PROPELLED VEHICLES 


Commer- 
Year Cars Taxis yee, °. pba sate ‘Cotles Total 
1957 ... 48,682 2,665 11,528 1,233 50 10,344 74,504 
1958 .. 53,521 3,053 12,448 1,264 50 12,253 82,584 
1959 ... 57,894 3,296 13,052 1,292 50 14,306 89,890 


The following table indicates the number of road accidents and 
casualties which occurred during 1957, 1958 and 1959: 


1957 1958 1959 
Total number of accidents reported 23,816 25,013 25,683 


Persons Killed oe us 167 193 191 
Persons Injured An we. 25767 3,817 4,779 
Total number of Persens Killed or 

Injured... : . 2,934 4,010 4,970 


Comparative figures for deaths and injuries per 1,000 vehicles 
resulting from traffic accidents are: 


1958 1959 
Deaths fan sae ane 2.33 2.12 
Seriously Injured Jue hd 9.9 11.7 


Dead and Injured—all categories ... 49 55 


LAW AND SECURITY 111 


The traffic problem in general is dealt with piecemeal by several 
different authorities and the Police consider that this is unsatisfac- 
tory. A central authority is required with overall powers in con- 
nection with driving licences, testing of drivers, vehicles inspection, 
licensing of vehicles, maintenance of traffic signals and signs. The 
control and the regulating of road traffic and the enforcement of 
all traffic regulations is the proper function of the Police. 

The main problem is still the lack of parking space. A start 
was made in December to introduce a ticket system in the con- 
gested business area of the City and it is hoped that this will be 
further extended in the near future. This should tend to make 
people rely more and more on public transport when it becomes 
fully effective. The parking problem and the safe and free flow of 
traffic are still being aggravated in many busy parts of the City 
by shop-keepers and hawkers who obstruct the pedestrian pave- 
ments and the edges of the roads with their wares and barrows, 
thus forcing pedestrians on to the roads. 

Traffic control equipment includes the following light signals: 


1957 1958 1959 

Vehicle Actuated 328 6 14 20 
Fixed Time Cycle ae 61 54 49 
Pedestrian Traffic Lights ... 6 6 6 
Total ... 73 74 75 


Six vehicles actuated traffic lights were installed, five of which re- 
placed fixed time cycle controlled lights and one at the junction 
of Changi Road x Jalan Eunos x Still Road was a new installation. 


MARINE AND PORT POLICE 


This Division, which has its headquarters at Cavanagh Bridge 
at the mouth of Singapore River, has sub-stations at Tanjong Kling, 
Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong, a Boat Station at Clifford Pier and 
five Village Constable Posts on the islands. 

It operates 32 launches of between 30 and 48 feet and six sam- 
pans of 22 feet. Thirty-two of its craft are equipped with radio, 
linked to the Marine Operations Room at Cavanagh Bridge. 

The function of the Division is to patrol the harbour area and 
port limits and to check vessels under the Port Rules and Mer- 
chant Shipping Ordinance in addition to searching vessels for il- 
legal immigrants and smuggling. There is also a small crime branch 
for dealing with all offences taking place at sea. 


112 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT 


Customs 


With free-port status, which Singapore has enjoyed since 1819, 
only petroleum, intoxicating liquors and tobacco are dutiable when 
released for domestic consumption. 

As was to be expected, the prevailing high duties on tobacco 
and liquor resulted in intense smuggling activity, particularly of 
easily transportable cigarettes from the Rhio Islands of Indonesia 
which lie only a few miles to the south of Singapore. Tobacco, 
especially cigarettes, is exported duty-free to these islands and in 
a matter of hours is run back to Singapore in fast speedboats for 
easy disposal through itinerant hawkers. Countermeasures, based 
on intelligence reports and the strategic deployment of Customs 
high-powered interceptor craft, caused a heavy toll and approx- 
imately 14 tons of cigarettes and tobacco, along with 34 smugglers’ 
boats, were captured. Illicit samsu (rice wine) distilling in the rural 
areas demanded the constant attention of Excise staff who detected 
and broke up 245 distilleries during the year. 

The Customs Department also assisted in the enforcement of non- 
fiscal controls on imports and exports and veterinary, agricultural 
and postal restrictions. 


SEIZURES OF CONTRABAND 


Unit 1958 1959 
Tobacco, including cigars and 
cigarettes bas ..» Ib. 51,346 32,304* 
Imported Liquors | gallons 148 316 
' Locally distilled liquors (cain) gallons 1,674 2,310 
Beer and Stout gallons — 157 
Fermented Rice Mash (for the 
manufacture of samsu) .... __ gallons 45,016 54,975 
Petroleum wae ... gallons — 512 
Unlicensed Stills ... nae 187 245 
Jackpot Machines ran — 3 
Opium, raw and prepared... Ib. 1,788 1,609.378 
Indian Hemp — we. Ib. 15 162.750 
Morphine ; .. grammes 253 — 
Gold ... wd. 5.497 94.283 
USS. ee esi 
i Joieces 2 
Miscellaneous Trade Goods 
(value) ane oe $720 — 


*Duty free exports to the Rhio Archipelago were 500,000 Ib. less in 1959 than in 1958. 


LAW AND SECURITY 113 


VEHICLES USED IN SMUGGLING 


1958 1959 
Motor cars Mk aad 36 35 
Bicycles... = ae 30 17 
Motor cycles ee Siow 2 — 
Marine craft me yee 23 33 
Outboard motors... a 35 16 
FORFEITURES CREDITED TO GOVERNMENT REVENUE 
1958 1959 
$ $ c. 


Forfeited i a saci of sale credited to 

revenue _ : 110.412 39.429 76 
Currency forfeited under Finaace Regulations (in- 

cluding excess currency, e.g. Indian rupees, 

Indonesian rupiahs, Malayan dollars, French 

francs, etc.) Equivalent Malayan Dollar value 582 5,400 00: 


Total ... 110.994 44,829 76 








Narcotics 

Opium remains the principal illicit dangerous drug to which 
there is addiction on any appreciable scale in Singapore while 
ganja (Cannabis Sativa) in very small quantities is used by a 
negligible proportion of the population. Seizures of opium during 
the year by Customs and Police totalled 1,784 Ibs. 

Once again most of the opium seized was identified as of “Yun- 
nan’ origin, that is to say, opium produced in the Thai/Burma/ 
China/Laos border areas. There was a slight decrease in the 
amount of opium seized compared with 1958. This may have a 
bearing on the pressure maintained on smugglers through the 
effective planning of preventive sea patrols, improved intelligence 
and the vigorous anti-opium campaign carried out by the Customs. 
and Police jointly. 

The Opium Treatment Centre on St. John’s Island pursued its. 
vital task of rehabilitating addicts bound over by the Courts and 
an encouragingly larger number who volunteered for treatment. 

The Singapore Central Narcotics Intelligence Bureau continued. 
its close liaison with neighbouring countries in South-East Asia 
and beyond. The exchange of information with countries such as. 
India, Pakistan, Burma, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia, Federa- 
tion of Malaya and Indonesia is proving mutually advantageous. 
The Narcotics Bulletin issued monthly, with its world-wide distri- 
bution in 27 countries, contains much information of value to 
narcotics traffic suppression authorities. 


114 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Department of Chemistry and. Inspectorate of Dangerous Materials 


The ‘Department of ‘Chemistry provides chemical and allied 
scientific services to other Government departments and to a small 
extent to: the public. ‘The Medical and Health Departments, the 
Police and the Customs, as usual, make full use. of its services. 


Work from the Health Department 


This work includes examination of food and drugs samples from 
non-city areas, toxicological specimens from the hospitals, trade 
and sewage effluents and advice on dust problems arising from 
stone crushing. Through the Inspector of Poisons, samples of 
medicines from sellers are regularly checked to ensure absence of 
listed poisons and contents are as claimed on the label. Drugs 
and medicinal preparations manufactured by the Government 
Medical Store continued to be checked by regular assays of raw 
and final products. 


Work from the Police Department 

. Police investigating officers make full use of the forensic labora- 
tories for their scientific evidence. Exhibits include blood and 
seminal stains, fireworks, firearms, documents, arson and miscel- 
laneous exhibits. The depaftment advises the Police on problems 
arising from explosive magazines. The recently installed compara- 
tor microscope and the electrical source unit for the quartz spectro- 
graphs have proved their worth in the increase convenience by 
which significant evidence has been detected and recorded for pro- 
duction in court. 


Work for Customs Department 

_ Most of. the: work carried out is for the assessment of duty. 
Liquors, tobacco and petroleum products are the main commodi- 
ties. Liquors containing poisonous metals are prohibited import 
and approximately 300 samples of liquors have been checked for 


copper and lead content. 
_. The preventive branch of the Customs Department have pro- 
vided the usual assay of illicit narcotic seizures and smuggled 


cigarettes and spirits. 


Work from Commerce and Industry | 

_The Singapore Harbour Board continued to seek technical advice 
on transport and classification of hazardous goods. Queries have 
increased considerably. 2 


LAW AND SECURITY 11S 


The number of ship inspections for freedom of inflammable 
petroleum vapour prior to docking or repair has increased. The 
inspections are required at short notice and any delay would be 
detrimental for the competitive position of the State of Singapore 
as a ship repairing port. 

Other work includes checking the flash points of petroleum and 
testing of explosives prior to import. 


PRISON ADMINISTRATION 


The Prisons Department administers the Outram (Local) Prison 
(for short term prisoners), the Remand Prison, the Female Prison, 
two Reformative Training Centres (Borstal institutions), a closed 
institution at Pearl’s Hill and an open institution at Changi Camp, 
the Changi Prison for long term prisoners (including a Corrective 
Training and a Preventive Detention Wing), and the open prison 
at Woodlands. These establishments can accommodate 2,116 per- 
sons under normal conditions. Also administered by the Prisons 
Department is the Opium Treatment Centre on St. John’s Island, 
providing accommodation for 250 patients. 

The staff of the Prisons Department under the Commissioner 
consists of a Deputy Commissioner, three Superintendents, three 
Assistant Superintendents, an Industrial Manager, six Chief 
Officers, 68 Principal Officers, 14 Sub Officers, 335 Warders, in 
addition to instructors, clerks and others. The female staff con- 
sists of a Matron, an Assistant Matron and 11 Wardresses, and 
the Opium Treatment Centre is staffed by a Superintendent and 
42 Attendants. 


A total of 6,226 persons were received into the Prisons in 1959: 


' Condemned _..... si 11 
Detained during Her Majesty’ s Pleasure —~ 
Short Sentence a = 1,618 
Long Sentence Aaa ay 83 
Corrective Trainees See ve 44 
Preventive Detention ae ai 4 
Reformative Training ie ae 148 
Safe Custody ... ee uae 2,823 
Opium Treatment or sun 566 
Vagrants ate aah ae 119 
Banishees ee: — 
Detainees under Preservation of Public 

Security Ordinance Me 4 


Detainees under Criminal Justice (Tem- 
porary) Provisions Ordinance ... .—s-_- 806. 


416 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Refor- Opium 
Local Changi mative Treat- 
Prison Prison Training ment 
Centre Centre 


(i) Daily average of Male 


Prisoners ... : 529 659 — 219 
(ii) Daily Average of Female 
Prisoners ... ee 38 —_— — — 


(iii) Daily Average of Young 
Prisoners (Not includ- 
ed in (i) above) see 68 7 199 —~ 


| (iv) Daily Average of Vagrants 80 a ae = 


(v) Highest number of pri- 
soners held on any one 
day aie ... 950 822 234 246 


- The prison population rose considerably during the year largely 
due to the detention of secret society gangsters under the Criminal 
Law (Temporary Provisions) Ordinance. This caused serious over- 
crowding especially at Changi where by the end of the year the 
daily muster was nearly 50 per cent in excess of single cell accom- 
modation. 

There were three executions in the State during 1959. 

- The Prison Industries which include laundering, carpentry, 
tailoring, book-binding, printing, blacksmith, rattan-work and 
farming continued to provide useful employment for inmates. — 
’ The industrial work of the Department was demonstrated at the 
Government Exhibition held during National Loyalty Week and 
many articles manufactured in the Prisons were displayed to the 
public’s interest. | | 

In November 1959 the Government announced the setting up 
of the Prisons Inquiry Commission under the chairmanship of Mr. 
C. V. Devan Nair and the Commission commenced its sittings in 
December. | 

The terms of the Commission were to: 

(a) review the whole system and operation of the Singapore Prisons 
Department; the recruitment, training and duties of Prison 


Staff; the organisation of prison industries; and any other matter 
pertaining to the Prison Service; | 


(b) review the problems of classification, training, discipline and the 
rehabilitation of prisoners; and the organisation of after-care; 


(c) make recommendations, having due regard to the. limitations of 
present conditions, circumstances and resources. 


LAW AND SECURITY 117 


- - By the end of the year the Service was completely Malayanised 
with the exception of the posts of the Commissioner, the Deputy 
Commissioner, one Superintendent and four Chief Officers. 


THE PROBATION SERVICE 


: The administration of a Probation Service for both adult and 
juvenile offenders under the Probation Offenders Ordinance is the 
responsibility of the Social Welfare Department. Probation is a 
method of dealing with selected offenders involving the conditional 
suspension of punishment while the offender is under the personal 
supervision of a Probation Officer whose main function is to 
advise, assist and befriend him for a period varying from one 
year to three years. 

_ Before the offender is placed on probation the probation officer 
conducts an investigation into the character, family environment 
and other circumstances of the offender at the request of any 
Court. The Court, if after considering such report, is of the opinion 
that there is good prospect of rehabilitation, may make an order 
requiring that the offender be placed on probation. During the 
year the probation officers submitted 503 reports to the various 
Courts of which 164 were in respect of juvenile offenders and 339 
were adult offenders. Ninety-two of the 164 and 157 of the 339 
adults were ordered to be placed on probation. 

By the end of the year a total of 76 juvenile and 152 adult proba- 
tion cases were closed and of these 14 juveniles and 20 adults 
had either committed fresh offences or otherwise failed to respond 
to supervision. During the year a Probation Officer also assisted in 
the supervision of two corrective trainees and 60 reformative 
trainees released on licence. Up to October 1959, two probation 
officers engaged wholly in prison welfare work, interviewed a total 
of 1,915 prisoners and they registered 420 cases for assistance in 
various forms. 


DEFENCE 


The geographical position of Singapore, coupled with its well 
developed communications with other parts of South-East Asia, 
makes it a natural military centre. There are large establishments 
of United Kingdom Forces on the Island and the Federation of 
Malaya’s Royal: Malayan Navy is also stationed at Woodlands. 
The ‘cost of maintaining these forces is borne by their respective 


118 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Governments. There are also Singapore’s own Local Forces for 
local defence which have grown steadily since the establishment 
of the Singapore Volunteer Corps in 1854. 


LOCAL FORCES 


Singapore’s Local Forces now comprise one regular and seven 
part-time organisations established and maintained under local 
laws at the expense of the local taxpayer. Since, however, the 
United Kingdom Government retains responsibility for defence 
and external affairs under the new Constitution which came into 
force in June, the question of the United Kingdom Government 
defraying the cost of maintaining these Local Forces became the 
subject of negotiations between the Singapore and United Kingdom 
Governments and remains to be determined. The First Battalion, 
Singapore Infantry Regiment, is the regular force, whilst the 
Malayan Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, the Volunteer element 
of the Singapore Military Forces, the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force, 
the Singapore Harbour Board Reserve, and the three Civil Defence 
Units provide the opportunity for trained locally recruited person- 
nel to take an active part in the defence of the State as and when 
the occasion arises. As far as possible, training in these Forces 
conforms with the standards obtaining in comparable United 
Kingdom territorial and auxiliary forces, and with the exception 
of Civil Defence, is directed and supervised by officers command- 
ing Regular United Kingdom formations of the Royal Navy, the 
Army and the Royal Air Force based on the Island. 

The youth of the State is also afforded the opportunity of train- 
ing in three Cadet Corps (that is, the School Cadets, the Sea Cadets 
and the Air Cadets) for future service, if they so desire, with the 
Volunteer Forces of the State. 


THE MALAYAN ROYAL NAVAL VOLUNTEER RESERVE, 
SINGAPORE DIVISION 


The Singapore Division of the Malayan Royal Naval Volunteer 
Reserve, which provides naval training on a voluntary and part- 
time basis for Singapore citizens, is the only Naval Force entirely 
maintained by the Singapore Government. Apart from its com- 
plement of volunteer officers and ratings, the Division has a per- 
manent full-time staff of seven officers and 62 ratings who are 


LAW AND SECURITY 119 


responsible for maintenance of equipment and the training of 
volunteers. 

Training was carried out at the Division’s Headquarters at Royal 
Navy Shore Establishments, and, at sea, in ships of the Royal 
Navy as well as in the Division’s own tenders. In October the 
first Officer Cadet class was formed by selecting suitable serving 
ratings and by recruiting direct entries from civilian sources, with 
the object of providing the future commissioned officers of the 
Division. 

An active part was taken by the Division during the National 
Loyalty Week celebrations in honour of the installation of the first 
Malayan-born Yang di-Pertuan Negara. 

In the sporting world, the Division won the football and badmin- 
ton knock-out competitions open to all Regular and Volunteer 
locally enlisted Service Units, and also won the Far East Fleet 
Swimming Championship. The morale of the Division is high and 
the waiting list of volunteer entrants remains over-subscribed. 


SINGAPORE MILITARY FORCES 


The Singapore Military Forces are raised and maintained by the 
State of Singapore to provide Land Forces for the defence and 
internal security of the Island. The Singapore Volunteer Corps 
was first raised in 1854 as a purely Volunteer organisation and 
remained so for a hundred years. 

Since World War II, however, change has been rapid. In 1954 
the present title of the Force was adopted and national service 
was introduced. For the first time personnel other than Volun- 
teers were called upon to serve Singapore. This was taken a stage 
further in 1957 when the first Regular Battalion, the First 
Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment, was formed. In 1958, the 
Singapore Military Forces was organised as an Independent 
Brigade Group and the regular content was further increased. The 
Force now consists of three different elements, the Regular soldier, 
the National serviceman and the Volunteer. The Units of the Force 
vary from fully Regular units to units which are half Regular/half 
Volunteer and National Service and those which are wholly 
Volunteer / National Service with a small Regular cadre. 

Despite these radical changes, the Volunteer spirit still prevails 
in the Force and all personnel are justly proud of their long tradi- 
tion of voluntary service. This tradition will continue to inspire all 
ranks in their service to the new State of Singapore. 


120 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Organisations 
The present organisation of the Force is as follows: 
(i) Brigade Headquarters (Regulars); 
(ii) First Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (Regulars); 
(iii) First Battalion, Singapore Volunteer Corps (Infantry) (Volunteers); 
(iv) First Regiment, Singapore Royal Artillery (Volunteers); 
(v) Armoured Car Squadron, Singapore Armoured Corps (Volunteers); 
(vi) Field Squadron, Singapore Royal Engineers (Volunteers); 
(vii) Brigade Signal Squadron, Singapore Corps of Signals (Volunteers); 
(viii) General Transport Company. Singapore Army Service Corps 
(Volunteers); 
(ix) Light Aid Detachment, Singapore Electrical and Mechanical 
Engineers; 
(x) Singapore Women’s Army Corps (Volunteers); 
(xi) Singapore Military Forces Band (Regulars); 


Internal Security Duties . 

Throughout the year all units, both Regular and Volunteer, con 
tinued to train for internal security duties and took part in an 
island-wide exercise. 


Training 

Regulars.—The First Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment, 
distinguished itself by being the first to win the Internal Security 
Shield in competition against all regular infantry units stationed 
on the Island. Its reputation for shooting was further enhanced 
when it won the Overall Championship and Staff Competitions at 
the Singapore Base District Rifle Meeting during the year. 


Volunteer and National Servicemen.—Frequent week-end camps 
were held at Changi Camp for Volunteer Units. The Squadron 
of the Royal Engineers held their annual camp at Kluang whilst 
the Squadron of the Singapore Armoured Corps carried out live 
firing practice on the ranges at Kota Tinggi, as did the two mortar 
batteries of the Singapore Royal Artillery. 


Recruits.—Recruit training for the Singapore Infantry Regiment 
was taken over by the Battalion. Formerly such training was given 
by the Malayan Basic Training Centre. 


Officer Training. —During the year three locally enlisted regular 
officer cadets were commissioned into the Singapore Infantry Regi- 
ment after attending the Federation Military College at Port Dick- 
son. One officer cadet won both the Sword of Honour and came 


LAW AND SECURITY 121 


first in the Order of Merit. The other two won prizes for administra- 
tion. Twenty-seven Volunteer officers were commissioned into the 
Singapore Military Forces after attending an 8-months’ course at 
Beach Road. Eight officer cadets from the School Cadet Contin- 
gents were also commissioned after attending the same course. 


Notable Events—A Sword of Honour for the best Volunteer 
Officer Cadet, a Cane for the best Other Rank recruit, and a 
Staff to the Drum-Major of the Singapore Volunteer Corps of 
Drums were presented in November. 

On the Ist of July the Singapore Infantry Regiment provided 
a guard of honour for the opening of the First Legislatvie Assem- 
bly under the new Constitution. Volunteers lined the route along 
St. Andrew’s Road and the Singapore Military Forces Staff Band 
made its first public appearance. 

At the installation of the first Malayan-born Yang di-Pertuan 
Negara, the Singapore Military Forces played a prominent part 
by lining the route. The Force also played a big part in the Grand 
Tattoo held at the Jalan Besar Stadium during National Loyalty 
Week. 


NATIONAL SERVICE 


The provisions of the National Service Ordinance continued in 

force in 1959 and 101 persons of registrable age were registered 
on entry into the State. 
_ Although there was no general registration during the year, a 
total of 880 young men were called up from those who registered 
in 1957, and were allocated equally between the Singapore Mili- 
tary Forces and the Civil Defence Corps. 

Young men called up for National Service have a 10-year service 
liability of which the first three years is spent on active part- 
time training and the balance in the Reserve. An ever increasing 
number of National Servicemen, especially in the Singapore Mili- 
tary Forces, elect to continue with their active training after com- 
pleting their 3-year obligatory period. 


MALAYAN AUXILIARY AIR FORCE (SINGAPORE 
SECTION) 


_ The Singapore Section of the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force was 
started in 1950 and now consists of a Wing Headquarters, a Flying 
Squadron and a Fighter Control Unit. Apart from one permanent 
Staff Officer who is in charge of Wing Headquarters, the entire 
establishment is made up of volunteer Singapore citizens. 


122 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


During the course of the year, training continued satisfactorily 
in all branches. The Squadron completed a total of 866 hours flying 
without incident, and three Cadets were awarded their Flying 
Badge, bringing the total of qualified pilots on active training to 
eight. In October, five Squadron pilots were standardised by the 
examining team of the R.A.F. Central Flying School, who also 
praised the M.A.A.F. ground crew for their efficient handling of 
the training aircraft. Fighter Control training laid more emphasis 
in 1959 on the practical training of radar operators than on prac- 
tice interceptions, while Wing Headquarters continued to train 
personnel in administrative duties. 

The Annual Camp was held in August, during which intensive 
training was carried out in all subjects, and regular visits were 
made to R.A-F. stations. In this period 35 members of the Fighter 
Control Unit passed trade tests and Squadron pilots took examina- 
tions in ground subjects. 

Contingents of the Singapore Section took part in ceremonials 
held in connection with the installation of the first Malayan-born 
Yang di-Pertuan Negara. 


SINGAPORE HARBOUR BOARD RESERVE 


The Singapore Harbour Board Reserve was formed in 1952 
under the provisions of the Singapore Harbour Board Reserve 
Ordinance with a view to providing a non-combatant force to 
carry on essential port operations in times of national emergency. 
It is composed entirely of employees of the Singapore Harbour 
Board who undergo part-time training on a voluntary basis. The 
training programme for all ranks in 1959 was supplemented by in- 
tensive courses in drill and ceremonial drill procedure and in- 
structions in port operations. The Reserve Band was in demand 
throughout the year playing at many public functions (including 
the arrival and departure of luxury touring ships calling at Singa- 
pore), and this contributed a great deal to the prestige and morale 
of the Reserve. 

A contingent of the Singapore Harbour Board Reserve took 
part in the Parade at the installation of the Yang di-Pertuan 
Negara, and at the same time a further 100 Reservists gave assist- 
ance to the Police on crowd control duties. 


LAW AND SECURITY 123 
CIVIL DEFENCE CORPS 


The Civil Defence Corps, which was started in 1951, expanded 
considerably in ensuing years so that by 1959 it consisted of four 
large and fully trained sections (Headquarters, Warden, Rescue, 
and Ambulance). Recruit training, and revision classes for trained 
members, were carried out by permanent as well as part-time in- 
structors and instruction was given in the seven languages in com- 
mon use in Singapore (Malay, Tamil, English and four Chinese 
dialects). 

Training consisted of lectures and practical exercises in the 
specialised work of the various sections as well as in general Civil 
Defence subjects. Members who were undergoing their National 
Service commitment received drill training in addition. 

In November nearly 2,000 Volunteers and National Servicemen 
took part in exercise ‘Baru’ which was designed to test the efficiency 
of the Corps under night-time conditions. For this exercise the 
whole of Headquarters area was converted into a mock bombed 
site in order to add realism to the exercise conditions. By and 
large however, the exercise showed that the Corps would be able 
to cope with any small-scale air attack on the Island. 

Several calls for civil aid were answered during the year, 
especially after the Tiong Bahru fire in February when members 
were on duty for almost four days, helping in the salvage of pro- 
perty and evacuation of the victims. 


AUXILIARY FIRE SERVICE 


The Auxiliary Fire Service was reformed in 1951 on a volunteer 
basis. to supplement the regular fire brigade in times of emergency. 
The Service is administered by a volunteer commandant, with over- 
all control being exercised by the Chief Fire Officer, Singapore 
Fire Brigade. 

Members of the Service undergo extensive training in fire-fighting 
techniques. A recruit has to complete one year of basic training 
before he is allowed to proceed to actual fires. Every weekend the 
members of the Service are posted to various fire stations on the 
Island and turn out to fires in conjunction with the members of 
the Singapore Fire Brigade. Members of the rank of Non-Com- 
missioned Officer and above are taught first-aid by the St. John 
Ambulance Brigade. 


124 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The modern equipment used by the Service includes very high 
frequency radio telephones for communication between the mobile 
force and the control centre, and members undergo training in 
control duties. A wide range of recreational facilities is afforded 
the members of this Service, and medical attention is provided free 
by the volunteer medical officer to the Service. 

During 1959, members of the Service were called out to 71 fires, 
and in addition toured the rural areas giving lectures and demon- 
Sstrations on fire prevention and fire-fighting techniques. 


SINGAPORE HOSPITAL RESERVE 


The Singapore Hospital Reserve, first formed in 1952, aims at 
supplementing with trained volunteers the nursing and hospital staff 
of all hospitals in Singapore in times of war and civil emergency. 

Male and female members, known as Nursing Auxiliaries, are 
given a total of 170 hours training in hospital wards and lecture 
rooms, and undergo two examinations, before they are regarded as 
trained. During the course of the year, 68 members completed the 
full course and a further 217 qualified for efficiency badges. In 
addition 12 Nursing Auxiliaries qualified as Volunteer Instructors. 

The Nursing Auxiliaries work in conjunction with the Civil 
Defence Corps in times of civil emergency and during Civil Defence 
exercises. Thus in February, members worked continuously for 
almost four days at the site of the Tiong Bahru fire tending to 
the injured, and in exercise ‘Baru’ manned an emergency hospital 
for treatment of ‘casualties’. 


CADET CORPS 


Sea Cadet Corps 


The Sea Cadet Corps operates under the provisions of the Sea 
Cadet Corps Ordinance, and 1959 marked the 11th year of the 
Corps existence. | 

A comprehensive communications training programme was com- 
pleted and courses were held for Quartermasters and Leading Sea- 
men. In addition to routine training at Headquarters, -sailing ex- 
cursions round Singapore Island were arranged and a 16-day re- 
turn passage to Mersing in three R.N.S.A. dinghies involving a 
round trip of some 350 miles, provided valuable training in sailing 
boat management. As the aim of the cadet is to go to sea, more 
attention is now being given to sailing instruction and cadets are 
being encouraged to build the Corps boats themselves from pre- 
fabricated components. 


‘LAW AND SECURITY © 125 


_ ‘Six cadets benefitted from scholarships awarded by Messrs. Shell 
Tankers, Straits Steamship, Alfred Holt and Ben Line. The Corps. 
played its part in the celebrations during National Loyalty Week. 


School ‘Cadet Corps (Army) 


The School Cadet Corps Rules, 1955, which are subsidiary to 
the Singapore Military Forces Ordinance, provide the powers to 
enrol and train cadets. Training during the year was directed to 
giving the cadets a good knowledge of basic military training and 
the opportunity to develop powers of leadership. Each Cadet 
Corps is affiliated to a regular unit and also to a unit of the Singa- 
pore Military Forces. These affiliations, which have been of great 
benefit to the Corps, have loaned instructors and equipment to 
assist in the training of the cadets. 

During the year the Singapore Military Forces increased its 
assistance to the School Cadet Corps by providing instructors, 
transport and training aids, particularly to the Cadet Corps at 
Hua Yi Chinese Middle School, the first Chinese school to have 
a COrps. 

The Annual Camp was held at Tanah Merah Camp in two 
phases and was well attended on each occasion. The Annual Camp 
gives cadets an opportunity for realistic field exercises and together 
with intensive instruction by the permanent instructing staff of the 
Singapore Military Forces in map reading, section leading and 
practical field craft, provides valuable practical experience. 

In 1959 saw the first Combined Cadet Corps Parade and March 
Past and it is now proposed that this will become an annual event. 
Cadet Corps Units from 14 different schools took part in the 
Youth Rally and in the celebrations in National Loyalty Week. The 
Cadet Corps year ended with the annual inspections in October. 


Malayan Air Training Corps 


The Malayan Air Training Corps is organised and operated. 
under the provisions of the Malayan Air Training Corps Ordinance, 
and made steady progress during the year. Training parades were 
held on four nights a week throughout the year. Courses were held 
for recruits and leadership training, and the aero-modelling class. 
continued to receive enthusiastic support. Through the good offices 
of the R.A.F., cadets flew a total of 744 man hours in 82 flights. 
in six different types of R.A.F. aircraft. 


126 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The Annual Camp held at R.A.F. Station Changi was well 
attended and included a small contingent of Indonesian Air Scouts 
and one officer. The camp training programme, drawn up in con- 
junction with the R.A.F. Liaison Officer, included lectures on sub- 
jects new to the cadets such as Survival and Dinghy Drill and 
Jungle Camp Training. Visits were also made to the R.A.F. air- 
fields and installations on the Island which proved of great in- 
terest to all concerned. In addition to normal parades the cadets 


participated in the Youth Rally and celebrations during National 
Loyalty Week. 


ABO AND 
VI ge 


OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR 
ORGANISATION 


HE YEAR 1959 was a year of changes. With the advent of 

the new Government, the labour scene underwent a great 
change. The general feeling of elation and confidence of the workers 
in the new Government was amply demonstrated in the rush of 
unemployed people to register at the Employment Exchange and 
in the number of representations made by the workers. Renewed 
activity by trade unions and the spate of complaints by workers 
exercised a pressure unknown before on the Department’s limited 
resources both in staff and equipment, not to mention space and 
accommodation. 

A prerequisite to the attainment of Government’s aim of ‘indus- 
trial peace with justice’ was the need to strengthen and unify the 
trade union movement. This need was met by the enactment 
of the Trade Unions (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959 which em- 
powered the Registrar of Trade Unions to cancel the registration 
of ‘yellow’ and splinter unions. Amalgamation and federation of 
allied trade unions followed. The establishment of an Industrial 
Court was being planned and legislation to provide for this was 
under active consideration. It is hoped that the establishment of 
the Industrial Court would pave the way for industrial peace and 
economic progress. Whilst the Government is naturally interested 
in promoting the workers’ welfare it has, nevertheless, recognised 
that private enterprise and capital must be allowed to further 
develop commerce and expand industry. 

Existing labour laws were strictly enforced. The Government was, 
however, keenly aware of the inadequacies and loop-holes in exist- 
ing labour legislation. The assistance of an expert on labour legis- 
lation from Australia has been sought to revise existing legislation 
and to advise on the establishment of compulsory arbitration 
machinery in the proposed Industrial Court. 


128 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


A Commission of Inquiry into Contract Labour was appointed 
by the Yang dtPertuan Negara in August 1959. The terms of re- 
ference of the Commission were: 

1. To consider the contract system in various trades and industries 
as they exist in Singapore at present. 


2. To recommend specific measures for eradicating whatever abuses 
are disclosed to the Commission. 


3. To state in what circumstances the employment of contract 
labour would be necessary and in what circumstances desirable. 


4. In particular, to recommend the replacement of this system by 
direct labour in different trades and industries where it is of 
greater economic benefit to the workers and to the national 
interest. 


The Commission was still sitting at the end of the year. 


EMPLOYMENT 


' For the first time since the Shop Assistants Employment Ordin- 
ance and the Clerks Employment Ordinance came into force on 
Ist August, 1957, the Labour Department in September 1959 called 
for returns showing the number of employees covered by the two 
Ordinances in addition to the usual returns for workmen under 
the Labour Ordinance. With the collection of these returns the 
Department has been able to obtain more information on the em- 
ployment situation in Singapore. 


MANUAL WORKERS IN EMPLOYMENT 
(in round figures) 


1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 
“ March ... 119,400 124,600 123,000* 118,100* 114,200 © 
' September .... 117,500* 120,600* 123,000 115,400*  106,800* 


* (i) 1,500 workmen were on strike on 30th September, 1955. 
(ii) 800 workmen were on strike on 28th September, 1956. 
(iii) 260 workmen were on strike on 29th March, 1957. 

(iv) 177 workmen were on strike on 3ist March, 1958. 

(v) 354 workmen were on strike on 30th September, 1958. 

(vi) 226 workmen were on strike on 30th September, 1959. 


It will ‘be noted from the above figures that the level of employ- 
ment fell to its lowest in September 1959. This may be attributed 
to less buoyant conditions in certain industries. The Department’s 
register shows a total of 209 industries arranged in nine industrial 
divisions and 39 major groups; 58 of these industries employing 


LABOUR AND WELFARE 129 


more than 400 workers each were regarded as principal industries. 
The following table shows 17 of the largest industries arranged in 
descending order of the number of workmen employed therein: 


MANUAL WORKERS IN SEVENTEEN LARGEST INDUSTRIES 
1958 1959 
Industry March September March September 


Shipbuilding and repairing except 
building and a of wooden 
boats... 9,722 9,495 9,494 8,769 


Road haulage and cartage transport 5,507 6,006 6,406 6,505 


Harbour, docks, landing stages, 
lighthouses, tug, lighter, and ferry 
services (Government and Har- 


bour Board) ae ... 5,344 5,478 5,472 5,305 
Motor vehicle repairing a 
motor garages) a ... 4,864 4,471 4,332 4,352 


Manufacture of machinery, except 
electrical machinery but includ- 
ing general constructional and 
mechanical engineering (e.g. 
workshops) bed ... 4,970 4,901 4,595 4,341 


Building and construction ... 8,633 6,459 6,607 4,326 


Contract work in building n.e.c. in- 
cluding decoration of buildings, 


repair and demolition works ... 4,045 3,786 3,990 3,945 
Sanitary services (garbage and 

sewerage disposal) ... ... 3,383 3,495 3,179 3,805 
Bus and trolley bus services ... 4,339 4,196 4,067 3,758 
Generation and distribution of elec- 

tric light and power ... 2,270 2,276 2,308 2,390 


Stevedoring and lighterage services 
(non-Government or Harbour 


Board) ... ees ... 3,477 2,653 2,812 2,249 
Job printing and bookbinding ... 2,616 2,577 2,401 2,245 
Air Force ... ome wee 2,299 2,140 2,08 1 2,169 


Processing and smoking of rubber 
other than rubber latex except on 
estates and smallholdings ... 1,600 1,680 1,982 2,120 


Grading and packing of rubber ... 2,798 3,640 3,005 2,091 
Medical and other health services 2,325 2,286 3,000 2,080 
Import and export trade 4... 62,495 2,860 2,039 1,822 


130 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The preceding table indicates that with the exception of five 
industries, namely ‘Road haulage and cartage transport’, ‘Sanitary 
Services (garbage and sewerage disposal)’, ‘Generation and distribu- 
tion of electrical light and power’, ‘Air Force’ and ‘Processing and 
emoking of rubber other than rubber latex except on estates and 
smallholdings’, the rest show decreases in the number of workmen 
employed. 

The following table reflects a fall in the number of workmen 
employed in September 1959 as compared with the number for 
March 1959 and September 1958. Of particular significance is the 
drop in employment in the manufacturing division which registered 
44,445 in workmen in September 1959 as compared with 49,536 
in March 1959 and 50,878 in September 1958. There was also an 
appreciable drop in the Construction Division which showed 9,385 
workmen in employment in September 1959 as against 12,110 in 
March 1959, 11,912 in September 1958 and 14,376 in March 1958. 


DISTRIBUTION OF MANUAL WORKERS TO INDUSTRIAL DIVISIONS 














1958 1959 
Industrial Division March September March September 
Agriculture, forestry, hunting 
and fishing... oe 1,570 1,544 1,527 1,319 
Mining and quarrying re 873 806 747 574 
Manufacturing ... ..- 51,296 50,878 49,536 44,445 
Construction _... ... 14,376 11,912 12,110 9,385 
Electricity, gas, water and | 
sanitary services at 7,095 7,168 6,833 7,504 
Commerce si ioe 8,738 9,096 8,359 9,941 
Transport, storage and com- 
munication... ... 21,785 21,658 22,160 21,103 
Services* ee ... 12,320 12,290 12,921 12,500 
Total ... 118,053 115,352 114,193 106,771 














*Ie should be explained that the Industrial Division described _as “‘Services’’, include 
community and business services, recreation services, personal services and those Govern- 
ment services which are not otherwise specified. Where it has been possible to classify 
Navy, Army and Air Force workmen more appropriately in some other division this 
has been done, e.g. Naval Base workmen engaged in ship building and repairing are 
included in the manufacturing division. 


LABOUR AND WELFARE 131 


DISTRIBUTION OF MANUAL WORKERS TO EMPLOYERS 














1958 1959 
March September March September 

United Kingdom Departments 380 397 440 418 
' Government Departments... 5,255 5,231 5,855 5,090 
City Council Departments ... 9,945 10,040 9,682 9,401 
Singapore Harbour Board ... 7,767 7,894 7,927 7,888 
Singapore Telephone Board 811 773 753 723 
Singapore Improvement Trust 561 629 669 695 
Armed Services ... ... 19,739 18,796 18,659 17,600 
Private Enterprises .. 73,595 71,590 70,208 64,956 
Total ... 118,053 115,352 114,193 106,771 














From the preceding table it can be clearly seen that employment 
in ‘Private Enterprises’ has dropped significantly. 


Shop Assistants in Employment 


Returns collected for the first time in September 1959 show that 
a total of 25,806 shop assistants were employed on 30th September, 
1959. The following table indicates that the majority of workers 
were concentrated in the Commerce and Services Divisions. 


DISTRIBUTION OF SHOP ASSISTANTS TO INDUSTRIAL DIVISIONS 





Industrial Divisions September 1959 
Agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing ... 36 
Mining and quarrying ae ne 6 
Manufacturing sd aes sire 1,617 
Construction oe bes ws 59 
Commerce ee 15,261 
Transport, storage and communication _.... 34 
Services* ... od Lu ne 8,793 

Total... 25,806 





*It should be explained that the Industrial Division described as ‘‘Services’’, includes 
community, recreation and personal services. 


Clerks in Employment 


The total number of clerks, as shown by the returns submitted 
in September 1959 was 23,902. This figure does not include cleri- 
cal workers in Army Establishments owing to the fact that the 
Army has not completed classification of its clerical employees. 
Whilst every effort has been made to get all employers of clerks 


132 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


to submit returns, it is felt that as comprehensive a coverage as 
is desirable may not have been achieved. Subject to this limitation 
it is felt that the information elicited in September 1959 is reason- 
ably close to the true figure. 

The following table indicates that the majority of clerks were in 
the Commerce, Services and Manufacturing Divisions : 


DISTRIBUTION OF CLERKS TO INDUSTRIAL DIVISIONS 





Industrial Division September 1959 
Agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing ... 66 
Mining and quarrying she sae 19 
Manufacturing bog bes ces 3,499 
Construction sien _ sat 937 
Electricity, gas, water and sanitary services ... 235 
Commerce be cas oe 10,212 
Transport, storage and communication ae 3,402 
Services* ... ee she i 5,532 

Total... 23,902 





*It chould be explained that the Industrial Division described as ‘‘Services’’, iaclvdes 
community and business services, recreation services, personal services,- Government 
services and Defence services. 

The total number of industrial clerks in employment on 30th 
September, 1959 was 10,268. Here again it must be pointed out 
that a few employers, because of difficulties in classification have 
not been able to submit returns. From the data elicited, the majority 
of industrial clerks were found concentrated in the Manufacturing 
and Commerce Divisions. The table below gives further details: 


DISTRIBUTION OF INDUSTRIAL CLERKS TO INDUSTRIAL DIVISIONS 





Industrial Division September 1959 
Agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing ... 14 
Mining and quarrying oe Sas 31 
Manufacturing ae 7 se 3,326 
Construction ss 317 
Electricity, gas, water ‘and sanitary services ... 467 
Commerce se as 2,828 
Transport, storage ahd communication a 1,682 
Services* ... or io ha 1,603 

Total... 10,268 





* It should be explained that the Industrial Division described as ‘‘Services’’, includes 
community and _ business services, recreation services, personal services, Government 
services and Defence services. 





LABOUR AND WELFARE. 133 


EMPLOYMENT SERVICE 


Two Employment Exchanges, the main exchange at Havelock 
Road and a branch exchange at Bukit Panjang, were in operation 
during the year. The main object of the employment service, which 
is free of charge, is to assist workers to find suitable employment 
and to provide employers with suitable workers. The Exchange saw 
a rush of unemployed persons seeking registration from about the 
second week of June to the end of July. To cope with the rush 
eight temporary branch exchanges were set up and additional cleri- 
cal assistance was obtained from staff loaned by other Government 
departments. The daily average of the number of registrations rose 
to 1,405 during this period as against the normal average of 70 
per day. 

Not all workers making use of the exchange service are neces- 
sarily unemployed. There are many in casual, part-time or full- 
time employment amongst those registered for employment seeking 
better jobs. 

The following table contains the average figures of registration 
of employment seekers, notification of vacancies by employers and 
placement of registrants since 1955: 


Monthly 
Monthly Monthly Average 
Year Average Average of of Persons 


of New Notified  Placedin 
Registrants Vacancies Employment 


1955 se she 1,381 622 368 


1956 ae 1,285 458 306 
1957 ae ies 1,232 413 330 
1958 iad ss 1,360 234 151 
1959 nee fe 3,059 384 313 


The monthly average of the number of persons actively seeking 
employment was 30,229. 


The operation of private employment agencies is regulated by 
the Employment Agency Ordinance, No. 47 of 1958. Every em- 
ployment agency must be licensed and licences shall be issued only 
in respect of the employment of artistes, musicians, and entertain- 
ers; specialised, professional or scientific services; or secretarial and 
clerical ‘services. Nine employment agencies were licensed during 
the year. 


134 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


UNEMPLOYMENT 


* The greatest problem confronting the. Ministry of Labour and 
Law was that of unemployment. The number of persons actively 
seeking employment through the Employment Exchange was 
counted at regular intervals. The count showed that there were 
12,395, 30,379, 43,852 and 48,076 in the months of March, June, 
September and December. The increase in the figures from. June 
onwards marks the beginning of a new phase following the forma- 
tion of the new Government. The Government is keenly aware 
of the need to add industrial strength to the already established 
commercial strength of Singapore to meet the growth of unemploy- 
ment and to find more jobs for the growing number of young men 
and women with a higher standard of education and with the ex- 
pectation of a higher standard of life. 

‘The Unemployment Relief Scheme started by the previous 
Government continued during the year. In December 1959; 723 
workers were in the employ of the P.W.D., and 442 in the employ 
of the District Councils. In addition to the daily wages ranging 
from $3 to $5, the workers were issued with dry rations of two 
katties of rice and one kati of sugar per head per day by the Social 
Welfare. Department. In June 1959 the dry rations were withdrawn 
so that another 300 more unemployed persons could be employed 
with the money saved. The Scheme ended on 24th December, 1959 
and the Ministry of Labour and Law announced that plans were 
afoot to put the scheme on:a more rational basis. A:sum of 
$7,000,000: was provided in the Estimates for 1960 to help relieve 
unemployment and expand employment opportunities. 


INDUSTRIAL TRAINING 


Apprenticeship Training 

The Joint Advisory Council for Apprenticeship Training con- 
tinued with its deliberations on ways and means of implementing’ 
the schemes already formulated, while its seven Joint Committees 
continued with their work of formulating further apprenticeship: 
training schemes. The Joint Advisory Council held nine meetings 
and the seven Joint Committees held a total of 28 meetings during 
the year. Three training schemes were approved in 1959 bringing 
the total number of approved schemes since the formation of. the 
Council fo 32. . 


LABOUR AND WELFARE 435 


: After lengthy negotiations the Council was able to get the H.M. 
‘Naval Base to bring their apprentices within the framework of ‘its 
Schemes. As a result, 80 apprentices were registered. The Singa- 
pore Harbour Board registered 100 apprentices. 


Supervisory Training (T.W.1.) 


During the earlier part of the year, a Job Relations Programme 
in Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) was launched. Only one,or 
two establishments took advantage of this move. It is hoped, how- 
ever, that more factories with Chinese supervisors would take ad- 
vantage of this scheme in time to come. Supervisory Training pro- 
grammes had to be curtailed considerably during the latter part 
of the year when the Department’s Training Within Industry 
Trainer was seconded for duty elsewhere. However, the trainers 
who had been trained by the Department continued to give in- 
structions in their own establishments throughout the year. The 
number of trained supervisors under the Scheme was as follows: 


Number Number trained _ 
trained during since 
1959 scheme started 
Job Instruction bas 114 1,723 | 
Job Relations Lal 316 2,579 
~ Job Methods ... a 47 _ 1,230 
needop Safety... 7 105 1200 °° 


I. L. QO. Productivity Mission 


Early in the year, the International Labour Office sent a Pro- 
Pires Demonstration Mission to Singapore. The. purpose of the 
three-man team of experts was to demonstrate modern management 
techniques for raising productivity with little or no capital outlay. 
‘They conducted a series of seminars, demonstrations and worked 
in certain projects in some factories. 


Rehabilitation and Re-training of Disabled Persons 


- The object of this scheme is to restore to persons suffering from 
physical disability confidence in themselves and to fit them for 
remunerative employment. Each disabled person placed in training, 
which usually lasts for a period of six months, is paid a subsistence 
allowance of $35 per month if he is under 18 years old and $50 
per’month if he is over 18 years old and actual transport expenses 


136 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


incurred during the period of training. In some cases, tuition fees 
and cost of materials required for training are also met. Fifty-seven 
disabled persons were placed in training during the year. 


WAGES AND HOURS OF WORK 


A Stratified sample survey of average weekly earnings, average 
hours of work and conditions of employment was conducted during 
the week 21st July to 27th July in accordance with the requirements 
of Convention No. 63 of the International Labour Organisation. 
It embraced 58 principal industries employing 87,823 workmen 
which was 77 per cent of the total population of workmen in 
March 1959. Average weekly earnings in 1959 for all workmen 
were $36.88 as compared with $36.67 in 1958 and $37.90 in 1957 
whilst average hourly earnings were 80 cents as against 79 cents 
in 1958. Average weekly hours of work were 46.38 as against 46.23 
in 1958 and 47.80 in 1957. The results indicate that there has been 
no marked change as compared with 1958. 

About 51 per cent of the total number of workmen covered by 
the survey worked between 46 and 50 hours per week whilst 
roughly another 36 per cent worked between 41 and 45 hours. 
With regard to average earnings per week, about 58 per cent of 
the workmen earned between $36 and $45 per week, whilst about 
34 per cent earned less than $35 per week. Approximately 29 
per cent of the workmen earned on an average between 71 and 80 
cents per hour and another 24 per cent earned between 81 and 
90 cents per hour. 

' About 99 per cent of the 486 undertakings covered by the sur- 
vey worked 8 hours a day or less and about 78 per cent worked 
44 hours in a week or less. The result clearly shows that the vast 
majority of workers now enjoy an 8-hour day and a 44-hour week 
which conform with the statutory requirements laid down in the 
Labour Ordinance regarding hours of work. About 73 per cent of 
the undertakings covered by the survey paid one-and-a-half times 
the ordinary rate of pay or more for overtime work on normal 
working days. 

. About 66 per cent of the undertakings paid double the ordinary 
rate or more for work performed on a weekly rest day whilst about 


LABOUR AND WELFARE —= | ‘437 


69 per cent paid double the ordinary rate of pay or more for work 
performed on public holidays. These rates are in accordance with 
the provisions in the Labour Ordinance. 


PREVAILING DAILY WAGE-RATES OF SELECTED OCCUPATIONS (1959) 


Occupation Wage-Rates per day 


Industry Minimum Average Maximum 
$ c. $c. $c. 
SKILLED WORKERS 
Bench Fitter . Engineering... 5 00 7 16 13 00 
Welders (Gas Electric) Engineering ... 5 00 8 15 10 00 
Lathe Operators | 
(Turners) Engineering ... 5 00 7 80 11 00 
Boiler Makers Engineering... 5 00 6 95 12 00 
Moulder-Founders Foundry sat 5 10 6 58 9 40 
Motor Fitter, 
Ist Grade Motor works ... 6 00 7 65 10 85 | 
Motor Fitter, 
2nd Grade Motor works ... 3 33 5 65 7 80 
Building 
Carpenters Construction 4 50 9 26 10 00. 
Bricklayers (Mason) ... Building 
Construction 5 00 9 50 10 00 
Steel Workers Building 
(Benders) Construction 5 00 8 25 10 00 
Electricians Engineering 6 00 7 60 10 17 
Linotype Operators ... Printing Press 2 50 8 26 14 40 
UNSKILLED WORKERS ; 
General Labourers (m) Engineering 2 50 3 33 6 07 
Labourers | ; | 
(Carriers) (m) Rubber Milling 4 50 13 96 15 27 
Building 
Labourers (m) Construction 3 30 5 71 7 00° 
Building 
Labourers (f) Construction 3 60 4 69 6 00 | 
Carriers (m) Rubber Packing 3 40 4 39 7 30 
Checkers, Testers and 
Sorters (m and f) .... Rubber Packing 4 00 4 40 5 50 
Machine Attendants Cold Drinks 
(m and Manufacture 2 50 4 76 8 00 
Carriers (m) Sawmilling 2 33 4 31 10 00 | 


438 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 
oe __ SINGAPORE COST OF LIVING INDEX NUMBERS 
ee 3 1939100 
(a) Higher Income Group 
Group Weights 1958 1959 
1939 June December June December 
~ ALL ITEMS 100.0 247.7. 250.3 250.4 252.2 
Food and Groceries . 15.9 326.2 336.8 326.0 332.9 
zs ba a cas ole 6.1 317.3. 328.2 332.5 332.7. 
Servants 17.0 295.0 295.0 295.0 293.2 
Light and Water... «= «24 148.1 148.1 148.1 148.1 
Transport 7 . 6.1 ~--232.8 »=—-233.8 «231.8 244.3 
Education 21.2 207.3 206.1 211.5 210.8 
Clothing oe .. 78 337.2 3376 337.6 337.6 
Entertainment and Recreation ... 7.5 240.4 246.0 252.7 258.7 
Rent 16.0 126.9 126.9 126.9 126.9 
(6) Clerical Workers’ Standard 
Group Weights 1958 1959 
| 1939 June December June December 
ALL ITEMS 100.0 312.6 315.9 312.7 317.5 . 
Food and Groceries 39.1 411.4 414.6 406.8 416.0 
Tobacco bis .. 2.7 350.0 433.3. 433.3 433.3 
Servants 12.5 295.0 295.0 295.0 293.2 
Liglit and Water... .. 45 1827 1846 184.6 184.6 
Transport i: .. 84 2328 231.8 231.8 2443. 
Education e .. 87 189.4 190.0 187.6 189.8 
Clothing _.s.. .. 8.1 526.2 523.9 $24.8 © 527.2 
Rent... . 160 116.2 1162 116.2 116.2: 


LABOUR AND WELFARE: | 139 


AVERAGE MONTHLY RETAIL PRICES 
(Selected foodstuffs) 
Annual Monthly Monthly Monthly Monthly: 
Average Average Average Average Average 
Article Unit 1939 1958 1958 1959 1959 
June Dec. June Dez... 


$c. $c. $c. $c. $c. 
1. Beef, stew orcurry... Kati 0 31 1 60 1 60 1 60 1 50 
2. Mutton .. Pound 0 52 1 55 155 1 55 1 55; 
3. Pork (Ist quality) .. Kati 036 200 207 1 97 1 96. 
4. Fowls ... .. Kati 0 32 1 40 1 82 1 44 1 70 
5. Fowl’s Eggs .. 10 0 28 1 13 1 27 1 29 1. 26. 
6. Fish, Kurau ... Kati 0 40 186 205 2 38 2 89 
7. Fish, Merah | 
(Snapper) .. Kati 0 31 046 #4061 0 45 0 55° 
8. Fish, Tenggiri . ons 
(Spanish Mackerel) Kati 0 28 1 55 1 75 1 13 1 24 
9. Beans, long ... Kati 008 0 33 031 032 £030; 
10. Beetroot ... Kati 012 050 038 050 O39 
11. Cabbage ... Kati 008 043 036 040 £035 
12. Carrots Kati 0 11 046 039 050 038 


13. Spinach (Bayam) . Kati 004 #£=0 23 022 022 £022 


Hijau) 10 010 060 06 . 060 0 23 
(P.K.) 

15. Limes, small (60 toa | 
_ kati) ... Kati 0 05 0 35 032 #420 38 0 33 
16. Papaya ... Kati 0 05 0 23 0 23 0 20 0 21 
17. Onions, large ... Kati 006 020 026 020 O29 
18. Coconut oil .. Kati 0 08 0 58 0 62 0 67 0 71 
19. Lard... ... Kati 024 =0O87 090 085 O85 
20. Rice® ... ... Kati — 0 25 0 25 0 23 0 20 
21. Sugar ... ... Kati 0 07 0 38 036 024 +022 


_* Average weighted retail price of lowest grade Siam rice and Siam partly 
broken rice. 


LABOUR CASES 


The Commissioner for Labour has powers under three Ordin- 
ances—the Labour Ordinance (No. 40 of 1955), the Shop Assistants 
Employment Ordinance (No. 13 of 1957) and the Clerks Employ- 
ment Ordinance (No. 14 of 1957)—to hear and decide disputes. be- 
tween workmen, shop-assistants and clerks and their employers. 
The Labour Ordinance was passed in 1955 and it consolidated the 
previous law with regard to labour which had been in force since 
1923. The other two Ordinances came into force on Ist August, 
1957. 


440 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The disputes, which are heard by the Commissioner for Labour, 
deal with claims for arrears of wages, wages in lieu of notice, over- 
time pay, holiday pay, etc. The decision given by the Commissioner 
for Labour has the force of a District Court judgement and appeal 
lies to the High Court. No fee is charged for this service. 

During the year, 1,006 cases were instituted on behalf of 1,981 
complainants under the three Ordinances, and a sum of $172,368.97 
was recovered and paid out to successful complainants. Further- 
more, 374 miscellaneous cases which concerned employees who 
were not covered by any of the three Ordinances, such as domestic 
servants, were dealt with, and a sum of $15,890.44 was recovered 
and paid to such complainants. (In these ‘Miscellaneous cases’, 
the Commissioner for Labour simply acts as an adviser or arbitra- 
tor.) For purposes of comparison the following figures give the 
details of the number of cases dealt with and amounts recovered 
for payment for each year, from 1957 to 1959: 


DETAILS OF THE NUMBER OF CASES 
1957 1958 1959 


Labour cases instituted during the year ... 302 501 584 
‘Miscellaneous’ cases dealt with during the ; 

year ... 243 359 374 
Shop Assistant cases s dnetited during the 

year ... 43 166 281 
Clerks Employment cases instituted during 

the year 25 127 14] 

Total... 613 1,154 1,380 


DETAILS OF AMOUNTS RECOVERED 
1957 1958 1959 


$ C. $ c. 8 8©=——ti<S Cc. 
Total sum for workmen under the 
Labour Ordinance for the year 65,658 90 62,224 20 125,171 09 


Total sum recovered in ‘Miscel- 
_ lJaneous’ cases for the year... 23,561 19 25,841 29 15,890 44 


Total sum recovered for Shop 
Assistants under the Shop Assist- 
ants Employment Ordinance for 
the year 2,950 59 12,804 17 23,996 79 


Total sum re | “for Clerks 
under the Clerks panpoyment 
Ordinance for the year 2,202 00 9,217 85 23,191 09 


Total ... 94,372 68 110,087 51 188,249 41 


LABOUR AND WELFARE 141 


TRADE UNIONS 


The era of union rivalry featuring the formation of small compet- 
ing company and shop unions over the past years came to an end 
when the new Government assumed office in June. To implement 
Government’s policy to unify and strengthen the trade union move- 
ment the Trade Unions (Amendment) Ordinance was passed. It 
empowered the Registrar of Trade Unions to cancel the registra- 
tion of ‘yellow’ or splinter trade unions after due investigation 
and to refuse to register unions where there were already unions 
catering for the same categories of workmen. Amalgamation and 
federation of allied trade unions followed. The Amalgamated 
Union of Public Employees which embraced eight Government, 
City Council and statutory board employees, was formed. Towards 
the end of the year the Federation of Land Transport Workers’ 
Union was formed by the Singapore Bus Workers Union, the 
Singapore Traction Company Employees Union and the Singapore 
Taxi Drivers Union. Other unions were also proceeding on their 
own to form unified bodies and these are unmistakable signs that 
trade unionists themselves are giving support to Government’s 
policy of unification of the trade union movement. Other highlights 
were the Government’s pledge to build a Trade Union House and 
a relaxation of the restrictions hitherto imposed on Government 
Officers or servants so as to enable them to join a trade union 
whose membership is open to Government servants as well as em- 
ployees of statutory bodies. 

During the year, 14 new unions were added to the register. The 
total number of employer and employee unions and federation of 
trade unions on the register at the end of the year was 238 com- 
pared with 281 at the end of 1958. Of the 58 unions removed from 
the register, the certificates of four were withdrawn upon voluntary 
dissolution, those of 11 were withdrawn upon amalgamation and 
those of 43 were cancelled on various grounds. Notices of cancel- 
lation of certificates of registration issued against 11 unions were 
pending at the end of the year. The number of employee unions 
fell from 218 to 176 but aggregate membership increased from 
129,159 to 146,579. Employer unions decreased from 57 to 56 fol- 
lowed by a slight drop in membership from 6,096 to 6,060. The 
number of federation remained at six. Eleven applications for re- 
gistration were refused. A decision on an appeal to the Minister 
was pending at the end of the year. 


142 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


According to the audited accounts furnished with the annual 
returns by trade unions, the income and expenditure for 1958/1959 
of 168 unions of employees were $1,066,635.40 and $851,719.89 
and those of 55 unions of employers were $727,591.52 and 
$923,444.44 respectively. 

The fetlowing tables show the growth of employee unions and 
distribution of union members by industry: 


Unions Unions Unions Membership 
registered dissolvedor remaining at 
Year during cancelled at end end of 
| year during year of year year 
1950 Sea 6 8 91 48,595 
1951 ahs 18 2 107 58,322 
1952... 19 4 122 65,831 
1953 ea 20 9 133 73,566 
1954 _ 12 9 136 76,452 
1955 heh 61 10 187 139,317 
1956 sie 27 9 205 157,216 
1957 ex 20 9 216 140,710 
1958 — 18 16 218 129, 159 
1959 ‘on 14* 56 176 146, 579 


* Registration of one union cancelled in 1958 was restored in 1959. 


Employer Unions Employee Unions 


Industrial Division No.of Member- No.of |Member- 
Unions ship Unions ship 
Agriculture and Fishing — — 3 638 
Mining and Quarrying ... 1 10 1 253 
Manufacturing .. «= 14 587 41 20,589 
Construction bee 2 136 5 4,178 
Electricity, Gas, Water 
and Sanitary Services 1 15 7 5,221 
Commerce... : 18 1,464 14 10,156 
Transport, Storage and 
Communication - 9 1,695 33 29,119 
Services... .. 10 2,020 64 56,057 ~ 
Mixed ae See 1 133 8 20,368 





Total ... 56 6,060 176 146,579 





LABOUR AND WELFARE 143 


INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND TRADE DISPUTES 


The Department’s conciliation service continued to function 
throughout the year. When the new Government took office in 
June, it announced its firm policy to maintain industrial peace 
with justice. To achieve this aim, it encouraged the workers and 
employers to use the machinery of collective bargaining instead 
of taking direct industrial action. For the settlement of disputes, 
more effective machinery will be introduced by the setting up of 
a permanent Industrial Court the decisions of which will be bind- 
ing on the disputing parties. 

The permanent machinery for joint consultation and negotiation 
in Government Service, the Armed Services and a number of other 
industries functioned as usual throughout the year. In industries 
where this machinery did not exist, its functions were performed 
by the respective trade unions, which represented the workers in 
almost all the major industries in the State. 

There were 40 strikes and lock-outs during the year compared 
with 22 in the previous year but the number of man-days lost was 
only 26,5874, the lowest on record. The following tables show the 
number of strikes and number of man-days lost over the last five 
years and the principal causes of strikes: 


NUMBER OF NEW Pt EACH MONTH 
NUMBER OF MAN-DAYS LOST, 1955—1959 





Month of sao? of rides ova Number of man-days lost 
1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 

January re 2 2 2 1 — 513 200,208 8,183 639 6,734 ¢ 
February 2 2 1 z2—_— 765 60,290 68 2,600 1,027 ¢ 
March . 1 3 3 — | 163 24,936 2,556 4,602 600 
April 8 6 2 1 — 7,291 25,463 3,300 4,456 —_ 
May 25 3 5 2 1 53,590 23,260 6,891 2,495 14 
June 98 4 — 5 — 155,099 24,060 11,628 8,967 — 
July 62 5 7 #2 1 62,992 26,117 36,4923 13,478 69 
August ... 27 2 1 1 2 166,066 20,095 26,528 7,550 173 
September 10 1 — 1 15 65,796 21,906 4,000 7,218 2,984% 
October 12 — 5 — 2 125,707 14,136 1,447 6,750 74142 
November 24 — 1 4 7° 151,641 7,734 3,717 6,650 4,741 
December ves 4 i — 3. 11° 151,731 5,620 3,539 12,761 9,503}¢ 

Total ... 275 29 27 22 40 946,354 454,455 109,349} 78,166 26,5873 





Notes:—* Indicate 11 strikes (3 in November and 8 in December) extended into 1960. 
, ft Indicate man-days lost in respect of strikes continued from 1958. 
t Indicate man-days lost in respect of strikes continued from the previous month (s). 


(144 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


PRINCIPAL CAUSES OF STRIKES AND/OR LOCK-OUTS, 1959 


Month Increase Retrench- Conditions Other 
of of wages ment Dismissal of service Causes 
January sue — — 
February Ga — 
March ~ 
April eg —_ — 
May ae — 1 
June bee — — 
1 


—_ 


July an — 
August Sos — 
September _... 12 — 
October — — — 
November _... 2 1 
December... — —_ 


Total... 15 3 


Notes:—For the purpose of this table only the most important issues 
have been used to classify the cause of the strikes or lock- 
outs. 


Latest LR Ga a4 
| Saltarnetaal Ia aaa 


Retrenchment and dismissals continued to be one of the major 
causes of trade disputes. In establishments where the workers were 
represented by trade unions, demands for wage increase and better 
conditions of service were also causes of a number of trade dis- 
putes. In a number of cases the Minister and his Parliamentary 
Secretary, who paid special attention to all trade disputes, offered 
their good services in bringing about settlements. Trade union 
officials had direct access to them at all times. 

Altogether, 504 disputes were handled by the Department’s con- 
ciliation service. Of these 450 were amicably settled and 35 were 
referred to the Labour Court and Legal Aid Department for further 
action. One dispute, that between the Singapore Traction Company 
and its employees’ union, was referred to arbitration. The Arbitra- 
tion Board, headed by a District Judge, awarded the Company’s 
employees a bonus of one-and-a-half weeks’ wages and a variable 
profit bonus. 

A major dispute arose in the pineapple canning industry. Pro- 
tracted negotiations ensued on the demands of the Amalgamated 
Malayan Pineapple Workers’ Union, which included the conver- 
sion of piece-rates into a minimum fixed salary of $280 plus free 


LABOUR AND WELFARE 145 


food and lodging. However, negotiations were finally deferred pend- 
ing the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into the 
Pineapple Industry on a Malaya-wide basis. 

In November, Whay Hin & Co. Ltd. and Lam Huat Hup Kee 
Pineapple Co. Ltd. suspended packing because of adverse market 
conditions, and the Amalgamated Malayan Pineapple Workers’ 
Union asked for loans to the workers during the suspension period. 
The workers of Whay Hin & Co. Ltd., following this, stopped the 
Company from taking delivery of goods from the factory. The 
Company then instituted legal proceedings against the workers for 
unlawful occupation of the factory premises. The High Court 
granted an interim injunction to the Company restraining the 131 
employees from remaining on the factory premises. The workers, 
on the other hand, filed a suit to the High Court, claiming arrears 
of overtime, sick leave and other payments. 

In November, 120 workers of Hiap Chuan Joo Wooden Box 
Manufacture Company and 60 workers of Yat Guan Company 
went on strike, while in December, workers of three sawmills with- 
drew their labour. These disputes were still unsettled at the end 
of the year. 

In October, the Minister for Labour and Law appointed the 
Commissioner for Labour to inquire into labour conditions at the 
Singapore Harbour Board and to endeavour to resolve any dif- 
ferences that may lead to a dispute by making recommendations to 
the General Manager, Singapore Harbour Board. Considerable pro- 
gress was made before the end of the year. 


SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE 


The Factory Inspectorate of the Labour Department carries out 
inspections of boilers, engines and other machinery under the pro- 
visions of the Machinery Ordinance. Close watch was kept on 
machine operators with a view to inducing them to adopt rec- 
ognised safety standards as are found in other industrialised coun- 
tries. Two of the three employers charged in Court for contraven- 
ing the provisions of the Ordinance were convicted. The Factories 
Ordinance passed in 1958 has not been brought into force as yet. 
However, an amendment to the Ordinance passed in 1959 will 
bring within its scope places of employment where machinery is 
installed even when less than 10 persons are employed. 

The Labour Inspectorate of the Department is vested with the 
responsibility of enforcing the provisions of the Labour Ordinance, 


146 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


the Clerks Employment Ordinance and the Shop Assistants Em- 
ployment Ordinance. During the year, a total of 3,648 inspections 
and investigations were made. In addition there were 517 follow- 
up visits. 652 employers were called to the office for the purpose 
of conducting further inquiries into complaints lodged by workers. 
The Inspectorate works in close liaison with the Central Provident 
Fund Board and information concerning the non-observance of 
the provisions of the Central Provident Fund Ordinance was passed 
on to the Board for further action. 

- Children and young persons between 12 and 17 years of age 
in the entertainment business are required, under the Children and 
Young Persons Ordinance, to hold licences issued by the Labour 
Department. Licences are only issued if the Commissioner is satis- 
fied that the child or young person is medically fit and that the 
terms of employment are satisfactory. At the end of the year, there 
were 148 licensed entertainers, 58 of whom were licensed during 
the year. 

Under the Labour Ordinance, no child under 12 shall be em- 
ployed while those between 12 and 14 must not be employed in 
factories, godowns and workshops. Those under 16 years of age 
may not be employed near live electrical apparatus, unless it is 
effectively insulated, nor be in attendance on machinery in motion. 
Children and young persons between the ages of 12 and 16 work- 
ing in industrial undertakings are required to register and their 
hours and type of work are regulated by the Ordinance. 

Destitute and unfit South Indian labourers and their families are 
assisted to return to India by the Labour Department, the cost 
thereof being borne half by the Government and half by the Indian 
Immigration Fund. South Indian labourers who retire by reason 
of old age or sickness are also given free passages if they wish to 
go. 72 South Indian labourers were repatriated during the year as 
compared with 52 in 1958. 

The Department was also called upon by the City Council and 
the Public Works Department to institute inquiries in India to 
establish the identity of claimants for gratuity payments due to 
deceased workmen. Eleven such inquiries were made through the 
good offices of the Commission for India. Some City Council and 
Public Works Department labourers prefer to have their gratuities 
paid to them in India and the Department arranges to remit the 
amounts due to them through the Accountant-General. A total sum 
of $49,157.87 was remitted to India during the year. 


LABOUR AND WELFARE 147 


WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION 


The Workmen’s Compensation Ordinance provides for the pay- 
ment of compensation to injured workmen, or in the case of their 
deaths, to their dependants for the loss of earning capacity caused 
by the injury to the workmen through accident arising out of and 
in the course of their employment. 

7,725 reports of accidents were received during the year and the 
following table gives comparative figures by degree of accidents: 


COMPARATIVE TABLE OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS ARISING OUT OF AND IN THE. 
COURSE OF EMPLOYMENT, 1956-1959 . 


Number of cases 
1956 1957 1958 1959 


Fatal accidents ws 7 54 54 47* 49 
Permanent disablement (disable 
ment over 20%) ... aus 24 42 35 11 
Permanent disablement (disable- 
ment 20% and under) ve 182 125 156 151 
Temporary disablement ... 6,207 6,830 6,932 7,514 
Total ... 6,467 7,051 7,170 7,725 


*Ten cases did not come within the province of the Ordinance. 








- The highest number of accidents occurred in the construction, 
transport, manufacturing of wood and cork manufacturing indus- 
tries. Firm action was taken by the Department for offences com-. 
mitted under the Ordinance. 119 employers were warned for failure: 
to make reports of accidents and five prosecutions were instituted, 
all resulting in convictions. 


The increase in the number of accidents reported does not neces- 
sarily indicate a higher incidence of accidents in industry. It does, 
however, show the increasing awareness of the working population. 
of its rights under legislation conferring social benefits. 


WELFARE SERYJCES 


The combined efforts of Government and voluntary organisations. 
have been largely responsible for meeting most of the welfare needs. 
of the people of Singapore. Co-ordination of the welfare activities. 
of voluntary organisations in Singapore is through the Singapore 
Council of Social Service which superseded the Social Welfare. 


148 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Council in December 1958. On the new Council are representatives 
from almost all the voluntary welfare agencies in Singapore. The 
Director of Social Welfare is the adviser to the Council. 

The Department has certain duties in connection with civil de- 
fence and is called upon to provide immediate shelter and relief 
for persons rendered destitute and homeless by fires and other 
calamities. During 1959 the Department was called into action 
twenty-four times in collaboration with the Singapore Improvement 
Trust, the Singapore Council of Social Services, the Armed Ser- 
vices and other welfare agencies to assist 6,754 persons rendered 
homeless and destitute by fire. 


SOCIAL SECURITY 


Mr. F. D. Matthews, I.L.O. Social Security expert, arrived in 
December 1958 and drew up a draft for Social Security in July 
1959. This Bill was based on the Interim Report of a Committee 
of Officials which was appointed to correlate the recommendations 
of the Caine and Brocklehurst Reports. 


PUBLIC ASSISTANCE 


The Public Assistance section is responsible for the administra- 
tion of two outdoor cash assistance schemes—the Public Assistance 
and the Tuberculosis Treatment Allowance Schemes—which are 
both financed from public funds. The schemes provide financial 
assistance to families who have been proved to be in need of 
assistance after the application of the means test. As from Septem- 
ber 1959, only Singapore citizens have been eligible, and a new 
rate of Public Assistance was introduced as follows: 


Per month 
$ 
Head of Household ae oe 16 
Wife = 38 Sa 10 
Each dependant of 16 years and over ... 8 
Each dependant under 16 years an 5 


The maximum amount payable to a household per month is limited 
to $90 and able-bodied persons without dependants who are un- 
employed are no longer eligible for an allowance under the scheme. 


LABOUR AND WELFARE 149 


A disability allowance of $10 a month was approved in October 
1959 for payment to a head of household who is in receipt of Public 
Assistance allowance and is— 


(a) totally blind; or 
(b) totally deaf and dumb; or 
(c) totally crippled; or 
(d) has lost— 
(i) both arms; or 
(ii) both legs. 


During the year a total of $645,570 was paid to an average of 
1,705 households per month. 


TUBERCULOSIS TREATMENT ALLOWANCE 


This scheme was first introduced in April 1949 to assist patients 
suffering from tuberculosis and whose chances of recovery and 
eventual return to employment are good. Patients are recommended 
for the allowances under the scheme by the medical officers of 
Government hospitals, the Royal Singapore Chest Clinic, the Naval 
Base Asian Hospital and the St. Andrew’s Mission Hospital. Pay- 
ments are made on condition that the patients co-operate in the 
matter of treatment and rest, that is, refraining from work. As in 
the case of Public Assistance allowance, only Singapore citizens 
are eligible and the rate of payment under the scheme was revised 
in September 1959 as follows: 


Per month 

Head of household— : 

(i) Out-patient or bes 45 

(ii) In-patient a ei 5 

Wife or first adult dependant ge 
Each additional eepengent ans 26 — 

and over id 15 
Each eee under the ae of 16 

years : 12 


Provision also exists under the scheme for the payment of rent 
allowance, deposit for new S.I.T. accommodation, insurance pre- 
mium, and also a domestic allowance where applicable, but the 
maximum payable to any one family is limited to $180 per month. 

The total expenditure under the scheme was $230,889 per 
month. On an average, 2,644 households per month were assisted. 


150 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


THE SILVER JUBILEE FUND 


This charitable trust was established in 1936 for the relief of 
distress in Singapore. The income of this Trust is about $120,000 
per year and the day-to-day administration of this fund is in the 
hands of the Director of Social Welfare, who is the chairman of 
the Committee of Management. Disbursements have been in the 
form of old age allowances, convalescence allowances, confinement | 
allowances, educational allowances, funeral grants, grants for 
the purchase of spectacles, and grants to supplement the diet given 
to advanced T.B. patients in certain community hospitals under an 
arrangement made by the Almoner, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and 
approved by the Committee of a During the year 
$118,356 was expended. 


THE MALAYA WAR DISTRESS FUND (SINGAPORE) 


This fund provides financial assistance to persons ‘standing in 
need by reason of the war in Malaya’ and during the year, $9,381.70 
was disbursed in the form of old age, education and rehabilitation 
allowances. 


COUNSELLING AND ADVICE SERVICE 


The Counselling and Advice Service is primarily concerned with 
the settlement of family disputes. Matrimonial disputes formed the 
majority of cases handled by the section but quarrels between neigh- 
bours and disputes between landlord and tenant were also fre- 
quently dealt with. The section provides an invaluable service by 
acting as a clearing house for maintenance payments between 
estranged husbands and wives who had come to a settlement with- 
out going to Court. During the year the section handled 1,152 
maintenance payments amounting to $76,861. 


HOMES AND INSTITUTIONS 


In Singapore, welfare institutions and homes are run either by 
the Department of Social Welfare or by voluntary agencies; these 
homes may be statutory or non-statutory and they cover a wide 
range of institutional welfare. wo 


Homes administered by the Department 


Gimson School for Boys.—This is an Approved School for boys 
between the ages of 10 and 16 years who are committed by the 
Juvenile Court under the Children and Young Persons Ordinance 


Soon after the present Government took office, it launched a campaign not 

only to beautify the State but also to provide facilities for the people’s 

relaxation. Many projects were undertaken by thousands of voluntary workers 
on week-ends. 





Min. of Culture 


Top—Mtr. K. M. Byrne, Minister for Labour and Law, working shoulder to shoulder 
with voluntary workers during operations Pantai Chantek at Changi beach. 


Bottom—Picture shows the Nicoll Highway Promenade under construction. 


* z : ¢ ¢ 














Min of Cultur 


Top—Picture shows children receiving free medical attention at a Social Weltare Centre. 


Bottom—FPicture shows the Gimson School for boys where boys between 10 and 16 
years old who are committed by the Juvenile Court are taught various trades such as 


carpentry, rattan craft, tailoring, etc 


eae y=. 


: 
: 


=,“ € 
_/ = ¢, i »¢, . 
“sta e & (A ¢, a> 
“ie ON 054,00 a>? 
Ns * * 








LABOUR AND WELFARE 151 


(Cap. 128). There were .174 juveniles in the School and training in 
various trades such as carpentry, rattan craft, tailoring, servicing 
of vehicles, building, cooking, bread-baking, vegetable gardening 
and animal husbandry are provided for them. The School is divid- 
ed into a junior and a senior section organised on a house system. 
Its main object, apart from corrective training, is to equip the boys 
with a fair knowledge of some trade to enable them to earn a 
living upon their discharge from the school. 


Perak House—A place of safety and an Approved Home under 
the Children and Young Persons Ordinance (Cap. 128), Perak ~ 
House caters for orphans and destitute boys between the ages of 
7 and 14. Throughout 1959 it maintained an average population 
of 91 boys, 89 of whom attended Government schools. 


Girls’ Homecraft Centre-—An approved Home and a place of 
safety, the Homecraft Centre has a nursery section for 50 children 
up to the age of 7 years and a homecraft section for 150 girls 
between the ages of 7 and 19 years. The girls are admitted under 
the Women and Girls Protection Ordinance (Cap. 126) if they 
are in moral danger or if they are beyond the control of their 
parents or guardians. Destitute, ill-treated and refractory children 
are admitted to the nursery section under the Children and Young 
Persons Ordinance (Cap. 128). During 1959, 55 girls were admitted 
to the Home while 64 girls were discharged to their parents or 
for employment. Forty-two children were admitted to the nursery 
section of the Home while during the same period, 20 children 
were discharged to their parents. Forty-two girls attended Govern- 
ment schools during the year while vocational training was pro- 
vided for other girls in the Home in dress-making, cooking, cake- 
making and embroidery work and child care, as well as a general 
course in domestic work. 


Girls’ Home, Mount Emily—Gazetted as an Approved School 
and place of safety under the Women and Girls Protection Ordin- 
ance (Cap. 126) and the Children and Young Persons Ordinance 
(Cap. 128), Mount Emily Home has accommodation for 40 girls 
up to the age of 19 years. They receive vocational and non- 
denominational religious training in the Home. All the girls in the 
Home were rescued from brothels as a result of raids. 

During 1959, 32 girls were admitted into the Home whilst 28 
girls were discharged either for employment or to their parents or 
guardians. 


152 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Home for Mentally Deficient Children —During the second half 
of the year, this Home was moved from New Market Road to 
Woodstock Drive where there was more space and better facilities 
to cater for these mentally deficient children. In October 1959, 
responsibility for running the Home was transferred to the Min- 
istry of Health and the children were admitted to the new wing 
set aside for them in Woodbridge Hospital. The population of the 
handicapped children in the Home at the end of the year was 42. 


Homes for Old People—The Bushey Park and Nantina Homes 
provide accommodation for aged persons who are homeless and 
destitute. In October, the Nantina Home in Queen’s Street moved 
to Woodstock Drive and was renamed Woodstock Home, catering 
mainly for aged women. The two Homes also provide temporary 
accommodation for the victims of fires and other disasters. At the 
end of 1959, the population of Bushey Park and Woodstock 
Homes was 151 and 51 respectively. 


Boys’ Hostels—The two boys’ hostels, the Bukit Batok Boys’ 
Hostel and the Prince Edward Road Boys’ Hostel cater for boys 
between the ages of 14 and 19 years. They provide accommodation 
for various types of boys such as those discharged from approved 
homes and approved schools who have no homes of their own to 
return to or whose home environments are unsatisfactory, those 
placed on probation under the condition of residence in a hostel 
and those who are beyond parental control. The majority of the 
boys are either in employment or at school. 


Homes administered by Voluntary Welfare Agencies 


The Salvation Army operates orphanages and approved homes 
for boys and girls including unmarried mothers and a residential 
creche for children who have been abandoned by, or have lost 
their parents. | 

The Children’s Aid Society runs a Home for orphans and child- 
ren of mixed parentage. It has accommodation for 30 children. 
_ The Singapore Children’s Society maintains a Children’s Con- 
valescent Home at Tanah Merah Besar. It has accommodation for 
24 children. ; | 

The Red Cross Home for Crippled Children accommodates 40 
crippled children between the ages of 3 and 12 years. 

. The Oversea Chinese Creche is primarily for orphaned or desti- 
tute babies of all races with accommodation for 50 children. 


LABOUR AND WELFARE 153 


The Ramakrishna Mission Home which caters largely for 
Indian and Ceylonese orphans provides accommodation and 
vocational training for 60 boys. 

The Singapore Association for the Blind runs a residential 
school at Thomson Road which can accommodate 100 blind child- 
ren. The Singapore Association for the Deaf runs a partially re- 
sidential school for the deaf using the sign method of teaching 
and also an Oral School for the deaf. 

One of the Cheshire Homes, Malaya, provides residential 
accommodation at Changi for the care of the chronically ill or per- 
manently disabled persons who are destitute. 

The Roman Catholic organisations have been most active in 
providing institutional care for young orphans, girls in need of 
care and protection, and the aged. Boys’ Town, the largest and 
the best equipped Home in Singapore caters for much the same 
type of boys as those in Gimson School. The Marymount Voca- 
tional School for girls provides excellent training for many girls 
in moral danger who might otherwise drift to the streets. The 
Little Sisters of the Poor run a Home at Thomson Road for 300 
old people. : 


COMMUNITY RECREATION DIVISION 


The Community Recreation Division co-ordinates the use of all 
facilities relating to the leisure activities of the people of Singapore. 
In June 1959, it once again became a Division of the Department 
of Social Welfare. Thereafter, all community centres in Singapore 
including those owned by the Rural Board and the Singapore 
Improvement Trust and their programmes of activities came under 
the centralised control of the Department of Social Welfare. In addi- 
tion to free weekly film shows, cultural activities including Malay, 
Tamil and Chinese drama, Malay and Chinese music, bersilat and 
kunthau, the Malay and Chinese martial arts respectively, folk- 
dancing and singing were organised in the community centres. 
Language classes in Malay, Mandarin and English were also intro- 
duced, with teachers provided by the Ministry of Education and 
the Singapore Council for Adult Education. The Community Re- 
creation Division administered fifteen community centres located 
in Upper Serangoon, Siglap, Joo Chiat, Sims Avenue, Mount 
Erskine, Keppel Harbour, St. Michael’s Road, Tiong Bahru, Bukit 
Panjang, Buona Vista, Changi, Bukit Timah, Queenstown, Yio 


154 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Chu Kang and the Malay Settlement area; eight village halls at 
Ama Keng, Chua Kay Hai village, Changi Point Village, Kampong 
Ayer Gemuroh Village, Pulau Ubin Village, Ponggol Village, Kam- 
pong Teban and Pulau Brani; and ten small community centres 
situated in the Singapore Improvement Trust estates. The Bukit 
Timah Community Centre which was opened during the first half 
of 1959 would be the last big centre to be built, as the Government 
had decided to build small centres in all areas where the population 
is of high density, instead of having one big centre to serve a 
large sprawling area. Towards the end of the year, work com- 
menced on the first of such small centres, at Minto Road. 

Twenty-nine Boys’, Girls’, and Youth Clubs affiliated either to 
the Federation of Boys’ Clubs or the Federation of Girls’ Clubs re- 
ceived financial assistance to enable them to pay honoraria to club 
leaders and activity instructors and to purchase equipment required. 
On 23rd February, members of 35 youth organisations participated 
in a Youth Rally organised in honour of His Royal Highness the 
Duke of Edinburgh at the Padang. 4,500 members participated in 
the Mass Rally on 3rd December, to celebrate the installation of 
the first Malayan-born Yang di-Pertuan Negara, Inche Yusof bin 
Ishak. 

This Division is also responsible for the administration of three 
camp sites at Pulau Ubin, Tanah Merah Besar, and Lim Chu Kang. 
The Tanah Merah Besar Youth Camp formerly administered by 
the Singapore Youth Council came under the control of the Depart- 
ment on Ist December, 1959. Among the groups which used the 
camp sites were the Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, Boys’ Brigade, Girls’ 
Life Brigade, Social Welfare institutions and schools. 


THE CHILDREN’S SOCIAL CENTRES AND CRECHES 


At the end of 1959 there were 20 Children’s Social Centres in 
Singapore, 19 run by the Department of Social Welfare and one 
managed by voluntary workers. In March, the Changi Point Feed- 
ing Centre was moved from its old site to the Changi Point Village 
Community Hall and renamed the Changi Point Children’s Social 
Centre. The feeding centres in Bukit Timah and in the Govern- 
ment House Domain were closed in August and October respective- 
ly as they had already served their purpose and there was no 
justification for their existence any more. The total daily average 


LABOUR AND WELFARE 155 


attendance in the Centres was 1,360. Besides languages, the child- 
ren were taught elementary classroom subjects, hygiene, singing, 
arts and crafts such as carpentry and basketry, and sewing. The 
children also receive their daily morning snacks which consist of 
vitamin-enriched buns, milk and fresh fruits. Most of the children 
seeking admission into the Centres belong to the nursery age group 
as more and more children were able to find places in primary 
schools. A total of 651 children from the Children’s Social Centres 
were admitted into English and vernacular schools in 1959. 
During the year, the Children’s Social Centres participated in 
events of national importance—the Singapore Constitution Exposi- 
tion, the children’s welcome to H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh in 
February and the National Loyalty Week in December. 
The Department also runs two creches for children up to six 
years of: age whose mothers are working. Every child is given a 
snack and a cooked meal for a daily charge of 10 cents. The 
Mount Erskine Creche was moved to the New Market Road build- 
ing which formerly housed the mentally deficient children. The 
creche was renamed the New Market Road Creche. In November 
1959, four City Council creches were brought under the administra- 
tion of the Department of Social Welfare. At the end of the year 
the daily average attendance at the six creches was 310. 


Cake AND PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AND 
| YOUNG PERSONS er 


‘The Children and Young Persons Section of the Department is 
responsible for the administration of certain sections of the Child- 
ren and Young Persons Ordinance, and in general, it looks after 
the welfare of the children. Its main functions include the regis- 
tration of transferred children under 14 years of age, investigations 
and prosecutions in respect of ill-treatment and neglect of children 
and the prevention of trafficking in children. | 

In addition the section also conducts. investigations on behalf of 
the State Advocate-General in legal adoption cases, and is respon- 
sible for the administration of the Boarding-out Scheme for child- 
ren. During 1959, a total of 2,296 children were registered as trans- 
ferred children and 55 enquiries were instituted into cases of neglect 
and alleged ill-treatment. In addition investigations were conducted 
in respect of 363 cases of legal adoption. A total number of 72 
babies were fostered out under the Boarding-out Scheme. 


156 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


CARE AND PROTECTION OF WOMEN 
AND GIRLS 


The care and protection of women and girls are statutory func- 
tions performed by the Department of Social Welfare under the 
Women and Girls Protection Ordinance, the main objects of which 
are the suppression of brothels, the prevention of trafficking in 
women and girls and the elimination of those who live on their 
immoral earnings. 

During 1959, the work of this section increased appreciably with 
the introduction of the Massage Establishments Ordinance in 
September and the resumption of joint responsibility with the Anti- 
Vice Branch of the Singapore Police Force and the Services Police 
for conducting an intensified anti-vice campaign against brothels 
and those engaged in immoral activities. During the latter part of 
the year, 56 raids were carried out on places suspected of being 
brothels and 37 girls found in these places were detained in a place 
of safety after enquiry. 

The circumstances under which the female immigrants enter the 
State from Hong Kong and China were also carefully examined by 
officers of this section. 


IN-SERVICE TRAINING 


In addition to the formal training in social work for members 
of the staff in Singapore and abroad, the Department continued to 
organise in-service training for its investigators, assessors, instruc- 
tors and new recruits during the year. Between April and Septem- 
ber the Department successfully completed five training courses for 
the staff. 


THE PROBATION SERVICE 


A report on the Probation Service, which is administered by the 
Department of Social Welfare, is included in Chapter V. 


LEGAL AID BUREAU 


The Legal Aid Bureau has been in existence for only a short 
period of about two years, but judging from the infinite variety 
of cases which are being dealt with, one can only say that a serious 
gap in our society is now recognised and bridged. Heretofore, the 


LABOUR AND WELFARE ‘157 


existence of legal rights and duties and privileges and disabilities 
was meaningless to a large section of our community. The oppor- 
tunity to secure legal expositions on one’s rights in the field of civil 
law was only confined to those who could afford the fees normally 
charged by a lawyer. Happily, this is now a matter of the past. 
One has only to refer to the figures in the schedule to this Depart- 
ment’s report to get an idea of how indigent persons can secure 
redress in the Courts or legal advice on all their difficulties, within 
the scope of the Legal Aid and Advice Ordinance. 

It has to be admitted that the Bureau was not quite prepared 
for the increased calls on its resources when the new Government 
came into power in June this year. The figures will show that the 
volume of work increased 100 per cent. It was but only a few 
months before June that the provisions of the Ordinance relating 
to the granting of aid in Civil cases were fully implemented. No 
sooner had the Bureau started to assist in these cases than the rush 
began. The volume of work was such that the Bureau could not 
but be handicapped in their efforts to some extent, until the appoint- 
ment of more clerical staff eased matters. 

Much of the work is not unlike that which the officers in the 
Social Welfare Department perform. Very often a bit of tact and 
persuasion would suffice to settle a case out of Court, and this 
was resorted to sometimes, thus putting an end to unnecessary 
litigation. The sociological aspects of the law remain very much 
the concern of the Bureau no less than its legalistic ones. 

A word must be said about the help received from practitioners 
who have been assisting the Bureau in the way of taking on cases 
assigned to them. They have been performing a great service, and 
it is only right that due acknowledgement of their services should 
be made herein. Without their co-operation, the scheme would not 
have been the success it is. 

The means test which determines eligibility for legal aid is 
generous enough to embrace a very large section of the population 
in Singapore. 

Legal representation in civil actions in the Supreme Court and 
District Courts, and in maintenance cases in the Magistrates’ Courts 
under the Married Women and Children Maintenance Ordinance 
is provided for in Part III of the Ordinance. In order to be eligible 
for legal aid the applicant should not be possessed of or entitled 
to disposable capital exceeding $500 and disposable income not 
exceeding $1,000 per annum, but in certain cases, the Director has 


158 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


discretionary powers to grant legal aid where the applicant’s capital 
is between $500 and $3,500 and his disposable income is between 
$1,000 and $3,000 per annum. In such cases, the Director may 
require a contribution to be made by the aided person. Disposable 
capital means land, houses, money, shares and other property which 
the applicant possesses but excludes the benefit that may be de- 
rived from the subject matter of his application, wearing apparel, 
tools of his trade, household furniture and dwelling house owned 
by him and assessed at an annual value of not more than $150. 

Disposable income means the income of the applicant, and if 
married, his income combined with that of his wife during the last 
12 months preceding the making of the application, after deducting 
therefrom the sum of $200 for each person totally or partially de- 
pendent on the applicant; the amount of $1,000 for the applicant 
himself; and rent not exceeding $360 per annum. 

This Part of the Ordinance also provides for the waiver of Court 
fees in aided cases and exempts an aided person from the liability 
of the costs to the other party in the proceedings. On the other 
hand, it provides for the recovery of party and party costs for a 
successful aided litigant. The Director may act or in his absolute 
discretion assign a solicitor to act for the aided person with, how- 
ever, the proviso that he should not act for both parties receiving 
legal aid. 

Oral legal advice is also available to persons resident and present 

in Singapore. No specific means test is laid down for legal advice 
but anyone: seeking such advice must satisfy the Director that he 
cannot afford to obtain it in the ordinary way. A nominal fee of 
$1 is charged for such advice. 
- The present staff of four legal officers including the Director 
perform the bulk of the work, principally the same as that which 
solicitors do when clients call on them. It is not only the advising 
of applicants but also the conduct of cases in court that have to be 
undertaken, although in this aspect of their work, much assistance 
is obtained from the panel of advocates and solicitors who have 
kindly agreed to put themselves at the disposal of the Bureau. Very 
often the Legal Aid officers see a case from the very beginning, 
when they advise an applicant, right up to the moment when 
judgement is given. The work in court embraces the whole 
hierarchy of the courts, from the Magistrate’s Courts right up to 
the Court of Appeal. | 


LABOUR AND WELFARE 


LEGAL AID BUREAU 


159 


Number of applications for Legal Aid Certificates for the period Ist 
January, 1959 to 31st December, 1959. 602 


Nature of applications— 


Monetary claims ... 
Negligence (Accident) 
Maintenance and Custody 
Landlord and Tenant 
Divorce 

Estate Matters 
Partnership 

Contract 

Miscellaneous 


RESULT OF APPLICATIONS 
Granted by the Board— 
(a) For proceedings in 


Supreme Court _... 66 
(b) For proceedings in 

Civil District Court 79 
(c) For proceedings in 

Magistrates’ Courts 64 


Refused by the Board 


Number of applications withdrawn 


Number of eee still under investi- 
gations 


Number of Applications settled without the 
granting of Legal Aid Certificates 


Total 


RESULT OF AIDED PERSONS CASES 


Number of cases decided in Court 
Officers of the Bureau represented ... 
Assigned to solicitors 


Number of cases settled without proceed- 
ings in Court 


Number of cases ‘still sshiding trial 


Total 


Amounts recovered for applicants ies 

Number of legal oral advice given during the 
aaa Ist genUey 1959 to 31st December, 
1 


——  * +602 


—— 286 


10 


209 


oo 


$110,571.59 


3,075 


160 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


SPORTS 


Almost every branch of major sports is played in Singapore, and 
each has its own controlling body. The standard is high and public 
interest keen. 

Throughout the year annual championships in the various bran- 
ches of sports were held; and new records were established. 

The State’s prestige in the field of sports was maintained by its 
sportsmen during the year. A team of 47 participated in the Fede- 
ration of Malaya Amateur Athletic Union Championships held at 
the Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, on 21st and 22nd August, 
1959. The success of the Singapore athelets is shown in the follow- 
ing summary of the results:— 


Men Women 
First es 9 5 
Second a 9 — 
Third Hite 3 2 


Under the auspices of the Singapore Olympic and Sports Coun- 
cil, Singapore took part in athletics, basketball, boxing, swimming, 
cycling, weightlifting, tennis and shooting in the South-East Asia 
Peninsular Games held in Bangkok from 12th to 17th December, 
1959. Singapore won eight gold medals 7 silvers and 16 bronzes. 

Progress in providing facilities for sports in Singapore’s schools 
and in the Community Recreation Centres was maintained during 
1959. 


COMMERCE A 
Vil INDUSTRY 


OR OVER 140 years Singapore’s policy has been one of free 
trade stimulating her free port activities as the entrepét for 
surrounding countries. By careful application of the policy she has 
become a trading centre, pre-eminent in Asia and of major 
importance in the world. Her prosperity, based on her port and 
harbour facilities has attracted and established a population of 
diverse nationalities, bound by the ties of commerce and whose 
skill and enterprise has enabled the trade of Singapore to reach 
all parts of the globe. During the years of her existence patterns 
and direction of trade have varied and modifications of policy and 
intent have been necessary. The trade of an entrepot is sensitive 
to conditions of confidence and internal policy. The new constitu- 
tion creating the State of Singapore and granting full internal self 
government resulted in some hesitation in the more speculative 
types of trade pending the result of the election in May. The elec- 
tion of a Government with a considerable overall majority and the 
assurances given of the Government’s appreciation of the major 
role that commerce must play in the development of the State can 
be said to have overcome any inertia due to doubt as to the future. 
During 1959 a steady revival of world prices for the principal 
commodities produced in the region of South-East Asia, particu- 
larly rubber and tin, indicated an improvement over the trading 
condition of the previous years. The threat of a world trading 
recession did not materialise to the degree some quarters expected 
in 1958 and the upward trend in 1959 was indicated by the increase 
in Singapore’s total trade (excluding trade with the Federation) 
which rose steadily in value to total $5,826.2 million against 
$5,851.7 million in 1958. Imports showed a small increase being 
$3,105.5 million against $3,100.6 million but the increases in the 
value of commodities were illustrated by the rise in export value 
from $2,481.2 million to $2,720.7 million. The adverse trade 
balance of $619.4 million in 1958 closed to $384.8 million. 
Although the improvement showed signs of continuing into 1960 


162 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


both the principal trade associations and the Government, being 
well aware of the problems inherent in Singapore steady popula- 
tion increase, have continued to seek methods of expanding trade 
by increasing efficiency in the services offered by Singapore thus 
continuing to illustrate that, as a good trader, Singapore closely 
studies the interests of her neighbours who deal with her. 

As compared with 1958 the proportion of imports from the main 
groups of countries showed slight decreases for the Sterling Area 
of 39.2 to 35.1 per cent. Increases were shown for non-sterling 
European countries of 8.4 to 9.4 per cent, for the American Ac- 
count area 2.4 to 2.8 per cent and for the non-sterling Asian coun- 
tries 47.7 to 51.3 per cent. On the export sector there was a general 
change of pattern the sterling area decreasing from 30.0 to 26.7 
per cent and the non-sterling Asian area from 26.1 to 21.3 per 
cent. There was a marked increase in exports to the gold dollar 
area from 11.6 to 17.3 per cent and non-sterling European coun- 
tries rose from 24.1 to 29.9 per cent. 

Particulars of Singapore trade in the principal commodities and 
by principal countries, as well as the pattern of Singapore’s trade 
with the Federation of Malaya are given at the end of the Chapter. 

The important change whereby a considerable range of imports 
from the American account countries was liberalised in January 
and virtually complete liberalisation to all other ranges accorded 
in August did not show any marked effect on the import pattern. 
This is as expected since trade channels take time to open and 
offers of American account goods tended to be priced on the high 
side. 

The operation of the Port, on which the prosperity of Singapore 
so greatly depends, showed a decrease in actual tonnages handled as 
compared to 1958 from 15,775,930 freight tons to 14,206,020 freight 
tons largely due to a decrease of 1,141,020 tons of mineral oil in 
bulk. The Singapore Harbour wharves handled 32.6 per cent of 
all tonnage and the Roads, 67.4 per cent; the latter figure includes 
most of the oil in bulk and the Harbour Board handled 59 per cent 
of the total tonnage of general cargo. 

At the end of 1958 all sectors of trade appeared to be moving 
into an upward trend and this feature was established in 1959. In 
particular the rubber market, although showing a slight recession 
in June and July showed a welcome overall rise in average price 


COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 163 


from 80.18 cents for 1958 to 101.38 cents for 1959. This price in- 
crease was coupled with a tonnage increase for finished grades and 
latex of 37,300 tons of imports and 76,100 tons of exports. The 
total Pan-Malayan export at 1,197,900 tons was the highest ever. 
There was also a welcome increase of 13,700 tons in Singapore’s 
import of crude rubber for re-milling. The volume of tin exported 
fell to an all time low of 651 tons compared with 7,884 tons in 
1958 due to the closure of the Pulau Brani smelter and the transfer 
of business to Butterworth. The price rose from an average of 
$369.35 to $396.99 per picul and this provided a welcome increase 
in the purchasing power of Singapore’s neighbours. Prices of copra 
and copra cakes increased materially but the availability continued 
to fall owing to the difficulty of obtaining supplies. In turn the 
shortage of copra adversely affected the output of the coconut oil 
milling industry. In general the other lines of Straits produce con- 
tinued to weaken in price except for pepper in which prices were 
better than for some years. Timber exports rose in quantity from 
79,800 to 90,600 cubic feet tons but prices dropped and the total 
value of the trade increased only slightly from $12.47 to $12.81 
million. | 

Canned pineapple had a difficult year caused in the main by 
world over-production. Sugar exports dropped from 13,447 tons in 
1958 to 5,841 tons and coffee continued to decline from the peak 
period of 1956/7 although total trade was significant at 51,375 
tons valued at $86.17 million. 

The tobacco trade assumed a new pattern as the favourable tariff 
on imported cut tobacco resulted in an increase in the local manu- 
facture of cigarettes from 686,600 Ib. to 2,810,900 Ib. resulting in 
a decrease in imports from 10.9 million Ib. to 7.2 million Ib. 

The textile market showed a recession due largely to the decrease 
in trade with Indonesia. The fall was very marked in synthetic 
fabrics, mainly artificial silks, and compared with 1958 figures in 
this sector imports fell from 197.8 to 130.4 million sq. yds. and 
exports from 135.5 to 41.8 million sq. yds. Imports of cotton piece 
good remained steady but exports dropped by about 30 per cent 
to 42 million sq. yds. 


COMMODITIES 


Rubber . 

Rubber continued to improve in price and tonnage handled. Ex- 
ports from Singapore excluding rubber transhipped from the Fede- 
ration of Malaya rose to 650,200 tons, the highest for eight years, 


164 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


and the total Pan-Malayan export at 1,197,900 tons is the highest 
yet recorded. The recovery of the American economy and the 
general buoyancy of the economy in main consuming countries 
maintained a steady demand reflected in the monthly average 
prices for No. 1 Ribbed Smoked Sheet which opened at 86.10 
cents in January and closed in December at 117.07 cents. The 
lowest price was 86.02 cents in February and the highest 127.10 
cents in November. 

There was a slight recession of price in June and July due to 
uncertainty about the stockpile disposal intentions of the United 
States and the United Kingdom as consumers held off the market 
in the hopes of getting cheap rubber on disposal. In the event the 
arrangements of both countries were such as to avoid excess supply 
and buyers had to come onto the forward market to cover require- 
ments for high grade rubber; as Malaya’s production and imports 
were committed well forward the latter half of the year saw a con- 
sequent increase in price. The supply position, with heavy bulk 
buying by Russia and China kept the market in a rather nervous 
state but confidence appeared to improve at the turn of the year. 
Tin 

The year saw the cessation of all major smelting work in Singa- 
pore on transfer to the Straits Trading Company’s enlarged smelt- 
ers at Butterworth. In consequence the direct value of tin as an 
item of trade has fallen to a low level and is unlikely to increase. 
But so important is tin as an item of the revenues and purchasing 
power of surrounding territories, particularly the Federation of 
Malaya, Indonesia and Thailand, that the fortunes of the industry 
are of major importance to the trade of Singapore. The Inter- 
national Tin Agreement continued in force with its maintenance 
of export restriction and a floor price of £730 ($373 per picul). The 
market picture during the year was one of a steady climb to about 
$400 per picul mark easing back in the last quarter to finish at $387. 
The export quota also began an upward move from 20,000 tons 
in the first quarter to 23,000 in the second, 25,000 in the third 
and 30,000 for the last quarter. During this time the Manager of 
the Buffer Stock was able to make considerable sales and it is in 
the general opinion that his holding was reduced from 23,325 tons 
at the beginning of the year to approximately 10,000 tons at the 
end. Exports from Russia, who is not in the Agreement, were 
restricted by arrangement to not more than 13,500 tons during the 


COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 165 


year. In the overall market the Straits market continued to main- 
tain a premium over the London market of some £23 per ton. 


Pineapple 


Mr. J. A. Buehler was appointed Chairman of the Malayan Pine- 
apple Industry Board on 13th April, 1959. The Board regulations 
governing all aspects of the Canned Pineapple Industry were 
brought into force in February 1959. The industry had an extreme- 
ly difficult time at the end of 1958 and with the increased produc- 
tion in Australia and South Africa competing with Malaya for 
the United Kingdom market prices fell heavily and below an econ- 
omic level for production. In consequence the small growers suf- 
fered considerably owing to the inability of the canners to maintain 
prices. In July the Government in concert with the Government 
of the Federation of Malaya appointed a Commission of Inquiry 
into the industry with the intention of seeking recommendations 
to overcome the difficulties between production and markets. The 
Report of the Commission was not available at the end of the year 
but the need for rationalisation of the industry became more than 
ever apparent at the end of 1959 when the conditions as in 1958 
repeated themselves. The figure of Singapore exports and value 
realised speak for themselves viz. 


1957 34.818 tons valued at $31,212,000 
1958 38.749 tons valued at $31,139,000 
1959 36.579 tons valued at $26,571,000 


$896 per ton 
$803 per ton 
$726 per ton 
The three canneries in Singapore produced 11.041 tons of canned 


pineapple during the year as compared with 12.396 tons in 1958 
and 14.666 tons in 1957. 


Textiles 


The textile trade had a rather lean year mainly due to the virtual 
embargo on textile imports by Indonesia, a control largely imposed 
for exchange reasons. In consequence exports of textile to Indonesia 
fell in value by 60 per cent compared with 1958 while the overall 
export value fell by nearly 54 per cent. The recession in one of 
Singapore’s most important trading lines is of considerable moment 
but it must be remembered that the effect of the increased produce 
prices which became apparent during the year will not be reflected 
in the consumer market for some period. 

Imports of cotton piece goods fell slightly in value but increased 
in amount. India is still the leading supplier of bleached cotton 


166 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


fabrics followed closely by Japan and China. Japan is the largest 
supplier of dyed and printed cottons with China in second place. 
Imports of artificial silks fell heavily with Japan still by far the 
largest supplier followed by India; there was a significant com- 
parative increase in China’s imports and the United States moved 
into second place for dyed synthetic fabrics. The recessions in trade 
(excluding Singapore/Federation trade) is shown by the compara- 
tive figures below. 


Cotton Piece Goods Art. Silk Piece Goods 
(Million) (Million) (Million) (Million) 
$ 


sq. yds. $ sq. yds. 
Imports | 
1957 mie 147.2 94.2 89.6 63.2 
1958 ee 135.2 86.9 197.8 123.0 
1959 1 = 135.70—~*~*«*'D 130.4 85.2 
Exports 
1957 nee 63.5 33.6 30.7 20.3 
1958 Ses 59.2 _ 32.7 135.5 59.0 
1959 soe 42.0 22.5 41.8 21.2 
Rice 


The Government continued to maintain a rice stockpile to safe- 
guard Singapore’s staple foodstuff against any emergency. Import- 
ers of rice for local consumption are required to purchase from 
the stockpile a quantity of rice proportionate to the size of import. 
During the year there were 939 contracts for sale against imports 
for local consumption and some 31,500 tons of rice were imported 
on Government account. 

Otherwise rice imports were unrestricted. Thailand is the main 
source of Singapore’s supply and in view of the preference con- 
sumer show for Thai rice this situation is likely to continue. The 
export trade fell away considerably during the year mainly because 
of direct buying by Indonesia. Singapore imported 232,000 tons of 
rice worth $86.4 million and re-exported 58,400 tons worth $23.2 
million. Comparative figures of tonnage for 1958 were 354,800 tons 
of imports and 168,500 tons of exports. 
~The price of rice imports fell again and averaged between $60 
and $30 per ton lower than 1958 according to grade. 


COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 167 


Rice bran is imported as one of the main types of animal food- 
stuff; there was no change in the trade with imports at 78.768 tons. 


Copra and Coconut Oil | 

The general situation for these commodities continued difficult. 
Supplies of copra were hard to come by since there was reduced 
production in Indonesia the main supplier and Philippines copra 
was too high priced for economic purchase or usage in Singapore. 

Market prices rose with an average weekly price for sun-dried 
of $40.95 against $33.89 per picul for 1958 and for fair mixed 
$40.46 against $33.36 per picul. Prices receded slightly during the 
second half of the year. 

Imports and exports for 1957-59 were: 


Imports 
1957 142.700 tons valued at $61.0 million 
1958 109,500 tons valued at $52.7 million 
1959 75,000 tons valued at $46.4 million 


Exports 
1957 98,300 tons valued at $45.8 million 
1958 76,400 tons valued at $42.2 million 
1959 47,200 tons valued at $32.7 million 


In turn the scarcity of copra affected the coconut oil production 
and exports fell from 27,749 tons in 1958 to 17,744 tons in 1959. 
The price per picul rose appreciably from an average of $53.96 
in 1958 to one of $65.20 in 1959 but, the shortage of supply of the 
raw material matched the fall in exports which at 17,744 tons 
was nearly 10,000 tons less than the previous year. 

The direction of the trade for copra is about 60 per cent to 
Asian countries and 40 per cent to Europe with India still the 
largest single buyer. 

Of coconut oil exports 30 per cent go to Europe, about 10 per . 
cent to South Africa, 8 per cent to Canada and the balance to Asian 
countries. 


Pepper 

During the second half of the year the prices for both white and 
black pepper rose to the highest level for six years. Import in- 
creased. out of proportion to exports and it would appear that 
there is a firm control being exercised on the trade to maintain 
the level of price against any possible decrease in supplies due to — 


168 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


the closure of smaller estates. Imports and exports at 38,082 and 
29,101 tons were about 60 and 8 per cent up respectively on 1958 
figures and market prices were up by 33 per cent. The trend of 
the market was steadily upwards until end of July when prices 
started to jump until the end of the year; during the period Black 
Lampong rose from $75 to $170 per picul and White Munlok 
from $143 to $276. The bulk of the black pepper imports came 
as before from Indonesia with Sarawak the second largest supplier 
a position reversed in the case of white papper. The United States 
was the largest buyer of black pepper and the United Kingdom the 
largest for white pepper with the United States and France also 
buyers of size., 


Other Straits Produce 


The market for nutmegs and mace remained steady although 
below 1958 average and tonnage handled improved slightly on 1958 
figures. The tonnage of gums remained virtually unchanged but 
prices were weak in the face of competition from synthetic pro- 
ducts. Gutta percha and jelutong tonnage dropped some 40 per 
cent but prices averaged out round about 1958 figures. The prin- 
cipal buyer was the United States and Japan’s demand decreased; 
the United Kingdom purchases declined. 

There was a lack of demand for shells and prices fell between 
$20 and $30 per picul to end at about $135 for Trocha and $325 for 
first grade Mother of Pearl. 

Sago imports remained about the same as for 1958, export of 
pearl sago eased slightly with prices remaining fairly at an average 
of about $13 per picul. Sago flour imports dropped slightly but 
exports rose about 10 per cent with the United Kingdom taking 
60 per cent. Prices were steady within the limits of $8.50 to $9.75 
per picul. | 

Coffee has been faced with intensive competition from South 
America and also Africa. The general reduction in the price by 
South America and the action of the African exporters in meeting 
the South American price cuts has had serious effect on the Singa- 
pore market where prices declined progressively from $118 per 
picul in January to $86 in December. Imports came mainly from 
Indonesia and fell about 10 per cent while exports fell by 20 per 
cent with Italy, the main buyer dropping from 11,000 to 6,000 
tons under pressure of South American competition. 


COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 169 


Timber 


About eighteen major sawmills operated during the year but 
supplies of logs were reduced against 1958 from 39.018 tons to 
32.123 tons from Indonesia and from 227,960 to 197,833 tons from 
the Federation. Imports of sawn timber, mainly from the Federation, 
rose from 48,416 to 50,336 tons. Export of timber from Singapore 
is under licence and control for reason of supply: the export of logs 
except White Meranti and Mersawa is prohibited but all sawn 
timber except Chengal and Merbau is freely licensed. Exports to 
major markets are restricted to timber which has been graded under 
the Malayan Grading Rules. 

Exports of sawn timber (excluding teak) rose in quantity although 
not proportionately in value: 


EXPORTS OF SAWN TIMBER (EXCLUDING TEAK) 


Including sawn or 
From All Sources graded in Singapore 
tons tons 
1958 79,800 valued at $12.5 million 62,000 valued at $10.3 million 


1959 90,600 valued at $12.8 million 70,300 valued at $ 9.9 million 


Note:—All tonnages are in tons of 50 cubic feet. 


Compared to 1958 teak imports dropped 10 per cent in tonnage to 
5,392 tons and 20 per cent in value to $2.17 million. Virtually all 
teak was for internal consumption. 


Petroleum Products 


Trade in petroleum products with an overall value of some $900 
million accounted for about 15 per cent of the total value of Singa- 
pore’s trade. The various oil companies maintain facilities for stor- 
ing, blending and delivering and Singapore acts as one of the main 
distributing centres for South-East Asia. The main sources of supply 
are Indonesia, Sarawak and Iran and although exports are widely 
spread, Thailand, Australia, Philippines and Vietnam account for 
about 60 per cent of the total. 

Bunkering of ships through the facilities of the oil companies and 
the Harbour Board is an important function of the port. The bunker 
tonnage showed a slight fall from 1958 levels but at over 13 million 
tons with a value of about $120 million it constituted a valuable 
and essential service to the shipping on which Singapore’s trade 
depends. 


170 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Channels of Trade 


Singapore’s geographical position as a focal point for shipping 
operating in the South-East Asia or proceeding in the Pacific/ 
Europe/ Atlantic run and vice versa makes her a natural centre for 
trade and the exchange of products of one area for those of an- 
other. In addition Singapore has an important role as one of the 
main ports of exit and entry for much of the Federation of Malaya’s 
requirements and a centre for the coastal trade of the Indonesian 
and Bornean areas. Raw produce of the region is collected and after 
processing, grading and packing re-exported to world markets. 
Manufactured goods, machinery, food and vehicles are off-loaded in 
Singapore from ocean carrier and distributed to Singapore’s entre- 
pot area. As well as acting as a clearing house and transit point 
Singapore also maintains a stock of almost any type of produce 
and goods in her role as a warehouseman. Although there is a 
generality of trade amongst all the communities which make up 
the Singapore commercial world there are certain patterns peculiar 
to certain sections by reason of origin or market contact. Thus 
while textiles are handled by all there is an emphasis on the in- 
terest of the Indian trading community which is also particularly — 
active in spices. The considerable demand for Chinese foodstuffs is 
dealt with largely by Chinese traders who are also concerned with 
fancy goods and closely connected with the Indonesian trade. 
Heavier manutactured goods and machinery are some of the prin- 
cipal interests of the European trading houses. 


IMPORT/EXPORT CONTROL 


During 1959 the major alteration in import policy was the liber- 
alisation, in two stages, of imports from the American Account 
area (the Dollar Area). Since 1946 a considerable range of imports 
from the American Account countries were subject to specific 
licensing on a restricted basis. Licences were granted only where 
the goods concerned were essential to the economic life of Singa- 
pore or had special aspects of competitive price or rapid delivery 
or non-availability in the sterling area. 

In January 1959 a considerable range of goods were released 
from all restrictive control. Included in this range were clothing, 
synthetic fabrics, certain chemicals, paints, plastics, medicines, steel 
and steel products. In August a bigger step was taken by the elimina- 
tion of all control on all goods to an open general licence basis. 


COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY | 171 


There are certain exceptions common to imports from other coun- 
tries, which require specific licence and deal with items in which 
security or health is concerned. 

The consequence of the above is that imports into Singapore 
are now either on open general licence or are freely licensed from 
any source, with the following main exceptions: | 


(i) imports which would affect security or health such as arms, 
meat and plants; 


(ii) imports affecting the exchange control system such as dia- 
monds or gold coin; 


(iii) washing soap, which is restricted pending the possible im- 
position of a tariff; 


(iv) rice, in which import is conditional upon a purchase from 
the Government stockpile. 


Export controls continued to be restricted to a small range of 
strategic materials and a short list of articles where special condi- 
tions are imposed for reasons of health, security or exchange con- 
trol. The only prohibited exports are carbon black, logs and tin ore 
and concentrates. The export of empty bottles is restricted in the 
interests of local requirements. 

In 1959 two amendments to export policy were introduced 
namely: 

(i) the export of palm oil, palm seeds and palm kernels was 
permitted only on proof of country of origin against 
which a special licence was issued which form an official 
certificate of origin; 


(ii) the imposition of a quota on the export of cigarettes to the 
Rhio Archipelago of Indonesia. This was designed to 
check the smuggling back to Singapore of supplies ex- 
cess to Rhio’s true requirements. 


During the year the Import/Export Control issued over 700,000 
inward and outward declarations and nearly 40,000 import licences 
and other documents; the latter figure being 20 per cent less than 
that for 1958. In addition 57,400 ship and aircraft manifest and 
way bills were checked against declarations and permits. 


INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES 


As usual Singapore participated in a number of international 
economic and trade conferences. She was represented at meeting 
of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East in respect 


172 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


of the Committees on Trade and on Industry and Natural Re- 
sources, the Regional Trade Talks in Bangkok and the Plenary 
Session held at Broadbeach, Queensland. 

Singapore was also represented at the 11th Meeting of the 
Colombo Plan Consultative Committee held in Jogjakarta, the 
delegation being led by the Deputy Prime Minister. 


TRADE PROMOTION 


Promotion of trade, other than at an individual level is mainly 
carried out by the four main Chambers of Commerce, namely 
the Chinese, Indian, Malay and Singapore Chambers, the Singa- 
pore Manufacturers Association and other commercial and trading 
associations. There are also associations devoted to special aspects 
of trade and its many related functions such as the Rubber 
Packers Association, the Exchange Banks Association and As- 
sociations covering various aspects of Insurance and Shipping to 
name a few. 

On the Government side the promotion of trade is the responsi- 
bility of what was the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and, 
from the advent of the new Government, the Division of Commerce 
and Industry in the Ministry of Finance. This Division is 
responsible for the specialist Divisions of Industrial Development, 
Foreign Exchange Control, Imports and Exports Control Supplies 
and Timber and is situated on the 2nd Floor of Fullerton Building. 

The Division of Commerce and Industry continued to assist the 
promotion for trade by dealing with enquiries for information 
from all over the world, providing lists of suppliers of locally 
manufactured and processed goods and of raw material and in- 
dicating the interests of individual units in dealing with all types 
of goods. The Division published a monthly “Trade Enquiries 
Bulletin” to give the maximum publicity to enquiries and also 
figures of trade and market prices. 


Overseas Representation 


Singapore has a Trade Commissioner in the United Kingdom 
whose office is at 16 Northumberland Avenue, London, W.C.2. 
Close touch is maintained with the commerce of other countries 
through the offices of the United Kingdom Trade Commissioners. 

At the end of the year a proposal for the establishing of a 
Trade Commissioner in Indonesia was under close consideration. 


Mn. of Cultu re 


Top—Picture shows the Minister for Finance Dr. Goh Keng Swee, addressing the 
members of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in August and assured them of full 
government assistance In their plans for industrial development. 


Bottom—One of the main activities connected with Singapore's entrepot trade is the 
loading and unloading of cargo to and from all parts_of, the world. 





Industries in Singapore are at present growing concerns and with Government assistance 
and protection, expansion will gain momentum. 


Pietucnioi4 Pictures show workmen in metal (above) and ink (below) factories. 





COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 173 


To illustrate the trends of trade, trading figures under major commodity headings are 
shown in the following tables. 


SINGAPORE TRADE IN PRINCIPAL COMMODITIES EXCLUDING TRADE 
WITH THE FEDERATION 


(Gross Value in Million of Malayan Dollars) 


IMPORTS EXPORTS 
Poca Wee = eosaoninis orcas lee 
1957 1958 1959 1959 1957 1958 1959 1959 
3.0 4.5 2.8 86.4 Rice ar i xg 1.7 2.7 0.9 23.2 
1700 61.7) 13 41.1 Coffee... us .. 3.2 2.8 2.7 47.4 
15 20 2.9 88.9 Spices oP ee se. “2k “30. 3:3 89.4 
12.2 12.4 11.8 364.0 Other Foodstuffs is . 43 #43 3.3 90.3 
r 19 #19 1.5 47.0 Tobacco Manufactures es 1.1 1.1 0.9 24.1 
16.7 16.0 24.2 751.4 Rubber... es .. 41.3 41.5 55.2 1,503.1 
4.2 3.7. 4.0 123.5 Other Crude Materials -» 45 42 #42 113.3 
21.7. 19.7 18.7 580.9 Petroleum Products .. »- 13.7) 12.1) 11.3 308.3 
20 19 0.6 18.2 Petroleum Crude ae . 22 2.5 0.6 16.1 
0.1 0.2 0.2 6.8 Vegetable Oils i mA 2.0 1.7 1.5 39.3 
0.6 Tin 7” es .. 48 20 0.2 4.4 
; 65 85 69 215.5 Textile Manufactures .. 2.7 47 23 63.0 
2.8 2.0 1.9 57.8 Iron and Steel es . 08 OS 0.6 17.0 
| 18 $5 2S 45.6 Industrial Machinery .. a 0.5 O05 0.4 10.7 
19 2.1 1.7 54.0 Electrical Equipment .. .. 06 O08 0.6 17.1 
2.2 2.0 2.0 62.9 Road Motor Vehicles . 08 O09 0.9 25.0 
2.1 2.2 1.6 49.7. Other Machinery and Transport 0.8 0.8 0.8 22.1 
Equipment 
# 11 0.7 .. .. Ships and Aircraft Stores 68) (6S) (53) «(144 


5.8 15.1 5.2 163.1 Other Miscellaneous Manufactured 1.6 6.2 1.3 35.5 
Articles not elsewhere specified 


. 10.8 1.9 11.2 348.1 Others .. . 6 640412 «467°—°«(2273 








—e ——_ os oe 


100 100 100 = 3,105.5 Total .. 100 100 100 2,720.7 





—has oo aa eee 


174 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


FOREIGN TRADE OF SINGAPORE BY PRINCIPAL  MALAYAR (EXCLUDING 
TRADE WITH THE FEDERATION OF MALAY 


IMPORTS EXPORTS 

Percentage of Valuein : Percentage of Valuein 
Trade Total ge COUNTRIES Total Trade sa 

1957 1958 1959 1959 1957 1958 1959 1959 
13.7 12.9 10.5 324.7 United Kingdom a .. 111 10.3 10.1 273.5 
0.8 0.7 0.8 23.2 France... 53 .. 3.7 26 2.9 78.8 
2.4 #19 1.9 60.1 West Germany wk . 2.22 2.8 3.3 89.2 
0.5 O05 0.5 14.2 Italy or a . 33 #28 2.6 70.5 
16 1.7 19 58.6 Netherlands “% . 25 #29 3.1 83.8 
Ot... 1.0 2.3 Union of Soviet Socialist Republic 1.3 2.7 6.1 164.2 

of Russia 
39 3.4 3.1 96.5 Other Countries in Europe .- 68 7.6 80 217.2 
0.4 O04 O04 1°12.9 South Africa “s .. 17 14 1.6 43.9 
03 04 «0.4 12.8 Other Countries in Africa se 1.3 O09 1.0 27.9 
04 04 0.3 9.9 Canada .. ss 7 1.7 13 062.2 59.2 
4.2 3.8 4.0 125.2 United States of America .. 100 7.8 10.7 292.0 
09 1.5 0.6 18.2 Other countriesin NorthandSouth 4.7 4.2 46 125.0 
America 

2.7 2.9 2.6 81.9 Hong Kong Ay ut 19 20 #£1.8 30.2 
0.6 04 0.8 23.5 North Borneo os .. 25 2.4 2.3 61.1 
$7 5.3 5.9 184.5 Sarawak .. ya .. 2.8 2.8 3.0 82.1 
19 #24 1.9 60.3 RepublicofIndia .. .. 2.8 2.0 2.1 57.2 
06 #13 #211 34.2 Burma... oa . 16 06 0.4 12.0 
30 49 4.2 131.4 China Sie es . 16 26 43 116.0 
0.9 0.6 0.6 17.6 Formosa .. i .. 07 O23 0.4 9.7 
0.1 O77 0.4 12.9 Vietnam .. - sa 13 1.7 1.6 44.8 
33.5 31.1 36.6 1,135.7 Indonesia .. 9 .. 90 142 48 131.4 
69 8.7 7.8 243.5 Japan ae és .. 88 76 7.2 195.5 
0.1 O.. 0.1 1.9 Philippines Ke .. 24 2.0 2.0 54.9 
3.6 42 4.7 146.5 Thailand .. 6% se 25> 33° -3.5 95.3 
69 63 5.0 156.7 Other Countries in Asia .. 46 5.0 46 125.0 
3.7 34 3.6 111.7 Australia .. aid .. 44 #45 #45 122.9 
0.2 O11 0.2 4.4 New Zealand be « 23 Ab 12 33.9 
Other Countries in Oceania .. O5S 06 0.1 2.7 


o_O ee ee 





100 100 100 3,105.5 Total .. 100 100 100 2,720.7 


a EE ee 





COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 


175 


TRADE OF SINGAPORE WITH THE FEDERATION OF MALAYA BY VALUES 


IMPORTS 
Percentage of 
Total Trade 
1957 1958 1959 

0.04 

16 2.0 1.90 

0.3 0.3 0.10 

17 1.5 1.20 

2.2 3.5 2.50 

0.4 0.7 0.60 

0.1 0.02 
0.01 

10 1.6 0.81 
0.04 

0.02 

0.4 O.1 0.50 
63.5 66.5 78.3 

15.4 6.0 0.60 
0.1 0.02 

3.2 3.5 3.10 
0.02 

0.02 

0.1 0.10 

0.1 1.0 0.10 

0.1 0.2 0.10 

0.2 1.0 0.20 
0.1 0.10 

0.8 1.3 0.90 

1.0 0.10 

1.1 1.4 0.80 

7.8 82 7.80 
100 100 100 


eT 


1957 Import $784.6 million 


1958 
19359 


OF PRINCIPAL COMMOD 


(Gross Value in Million of Malayan Dollars) 


$s 
1959 

0.3 
15.1 
0.9 
10.0 
20.1 
3.0 
0.2 
0.1 
6.6 
0.4 
0.2 
4.1 
628.6 
4.5 
0.2 
24.6 
0.2 
0.2 
0.44 
0.7 


0.8 
1.8 
0.7 
7.1 
0.9 


6.6 
62.36 





802.9 





COMMODITIES 


Milk, sweetened condensed 
Fresh Fish 

Rice 

Fresh Fruits and Nuts 
Canned Pineapples 

Fresh Vegetables 

Sugar 

Animal Feeding Stuffs 
Coffee 

Alcoholic Beverages .. 
Tobacco 

Oil Seeds, Nuts and Kernels 
Crude Rubber 

Tin Ore 

Petroleum Products 
Vegetable Oils 

Cotton Fabrics Woven 
Artificial Silks 

Iron and Steel 


Metal Manufactures not elsewhere 
specified 


Printed Matters 
Industrial Machinery 
Electrical Equipment .. 
Road Motor Vehicles 


Manufactured Articles not else- 
where specified 


Postal Packets ee 7 
Others és ae 


Total 


» S6416 _,, 
»» $820.7 + 


$652.2 
$719.8 


EXPORTS 
Percentage of 
Total Trade 
1957 1958 1959 
2.6 2.8 2.2 
12 10 1.4 
47 50 40 
20 19 1.5 
2.1 #18 1.2 
a2 25° 2A 
110610500—6(«17 
05 O05 0.3 
332.9 2.6 
12 11 0.5 
0.8 13 0.7 
44 3.33 4.7 
0.3 0.4 
9.0 10.9 8.9 
0.3 04 0.3 
$1 50 5.2 
2.4 26 3.3 
17 16 2.0 
2.8 3.2 2.9 
15 16 1.6 
29 48 2.6 
19 #210 «(2.1 
6.1 5.1 6.0 
10.9 24 1.9 
42 3.1 3.6 
24.1 31.3 35.3 
100 100 100 


Export $705.0 million 


39 


9? 


Value in 
Million 
$ 
1959 
16.0 
7.5 








176 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Trade Missions 


The Division of Commerce and Industry was able to send 
Officers to Indonesia for discussions which resulted in a special 
purchase of yarn for a spinning mill in Singapore and also in the 
arrangement for a special sale of textiles to the Indonesian 
Government early in 1960. Another mission to Thailand was able 
to arrange special and advantageous terms for the purchase of 
rice by the Supplies Division. 


Trade Fairs 


Between January and March a Constitutional Exposition was 
held as part of the celebration of the new Constitution. The Ex- 
position was organised by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce 
and besides special stands for the Government Departments and 
the City Council there were a number of national stands and, in 
_ general, a general exhibition of the products of commerce. The 
Exposition covered 25 acres and the costs of exhibits and displays 
was about $50 million. 

In August a Trade and Industries Fair was held under the 
sponsorship of the Management of the. Great World Park with a 
main theme of the exhibition of Singapore’s manufacturers. 

In September the Chinese Manufacturers Association of Hong 
Kong sponsored the Fifth Exhibition of Hong Kong trading 
products at the Happy World Stadium. 


PRIMARY PRODUCTION 


Until the 30th of May, 1959, the departments which deal mainly 
with primary production viz., Agriculture, Fisheries and Veterinary 
Services had been part of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. 
The Co-operative Development Division was also in the same 
Ministry. From the latter part of 1958 until the end of May 1959, 
the activities of these divisions which dealt with the provision 
of services to farmers and fishermen and which related to experi- 
mental and research work aimed at increasing production were 
co-ordinated by the Rural Development Commission operating 
under the Rural Development Commissioner as Chairman. 

With the advent of the new Government in June 1959, these 
departments together with the Rural Development Division were 
grouped under the Ministry of National Development. Their 
functions were then co-ordinated by the Rural Development Com- 
missioner. It is envisaged that these Divisions will be grouped 


COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 177 


under a single department to be known as the Department of 
Primary Production. 


RURAL DEVELOPMENT 


It was found that the number of Government Departments 
which dealt with the Rural Areas and the activities of the people 
who lived there was large and that, unless there was close co- 
ordination among these departments, neglect of the problems of 
these rural dwellers would result. It was not possible, with limited 
financial provision, to satisfy the needs of the farmers and fisher- 
men and other rural dwellers all at once. A system of priority 
had therefore to be established. It was felt that this could be 
done most effectively by a Rural Development Commission with 
all interested departments represented on it. 

This Commission was duly appointed and started functioning 
during the last quarter of 1958. The following were the members: 


(i) Rural Development Commissioner (Chairman). 
(ii) Agricultural Officer (Member). 
(iii) Chief Fisheries Officer (Member). 
(iv) Chief Veterinary Officer (Member). 
(v) Registrar of Co-operative Societies (Member). 
(vi) Rural Health Officer (Member). 
(vii) Deputy Commissioner of Lands (Member). 
(viii) Director of Social Welfare (Member). 
(ix) Director of Information Services (Member). 
(x) Senior Executive Engineer, Rural (Member). 
(xi) Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Education (Member). 


(xii) Principle Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry 
(Member). 


(xiii) Planning Adviser, Singapore Improvement Trust (Member). 


(xiv) Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Local Government, Lands and 
Housing (Member). 


This Commission set to work and carried out an assessment 
of the position in the first half of 1959 in respect of— 
(a) Land availability. 
(b) Land utilisation and development. 
(c) Increased production. 
(d) Co-operative Development among farmers and fishermen. 
(e) Rural Credit. 
(f) Marketing of farm produce. 


178 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


During the latter half of 1959, proposals were formulated with 
the following objectives: ‘ 


(a) To convert 4,000 acres of swamp land for use as vegetable 
gardens, fish ponds and prawn ponds. 


(b) To produce piglings and chicks of desirable genetical 
strains for distribution to farmers to assist them to 
increase production. 


(c) To produce more fresh water fish for use as human food, 
pig and poultry feed and fertiliser. 


(d) To produce cheap but effective fertiliser mixtures by 
utilisation of sludge from the Sewerage Works. 


(e) To improve the extension services for the farmers and 
fishermen, e.g., chick inoculation, mobile dispensaries 
for farm animals, fisheries mobile engine repair unit 
and agricultural advisory service. 


(f) To carry out feed trials with cheaper yet equally nutritious 
feed mixtures for use in animal husbandry. 


The work of the Divisions of Rural Development, Co-operative 
Development, Agriculture, Fisheries and Veterinary Services be- 
came more closely co-ordinated under the Ministry of National 
Development. 


FISHERIES 


In 1959 there were 5,335 licensed fishermen in Singapore 
operating 1,961 licensed fishing gears of all types. Of these fisher- 
men 73 per cent were Chinese and the remainder were Malays and 
others. A total of 2,707 fishing boats aggregating 3,579 tons were 
operated by them. About 30 per cent of these fishing boats were 
powered vessels including those powered by outboard motors. 

The bulk of the Singapore fishermen fish within the Straits of 
Singapore on the Singapore side. Those operating large fishing 
vessels powered by inboard engines operate in the South China 
Sea and the fringes of the Indian Ocean. In the offshore areas 
only the bottom fishery resources and those types of surface fish, 
such as tuna which can be caught by troll-lines, are exploited. 
Surface aggregations of fish which are sufficiently large and regular 
for commercial exploitation have not been found. There is also 
a certain traditional reluctance among local fishermen to venture 
out into the offshore areas as such fishing trips entail an absence 


COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 179 


of up to two weeks from port at one time. Only research on an 
extensive scale can reveal whether or not there are sufficient stocks 
in the mid-water layers for commercial exploitation. 

Meanwhile certain local fishing companies have concluded 
agreements with foreign fishing companies to enlist their assistance 
in tapping the offshore bottom resources by means of trawlers. 
Other companies have made agreements with fishery co-operatives 
in other neighbouring countries whereby they either buy the fish 
caught by these co-operatives or teach them how to catch the 
fish and thereby get a share of the catch. These agreements serve 
the purpose of keeping our fishermen in full employment. 

The total production of local fishermen is estimated at 11,296.86 
tons in 1959, averaging 3,557 katties or 2.117 tons per fisherman. 
This local production is about one third of the total supply of 
fresh fish consumed at Singapore. The fresh fish imports are high 
because the local consumer prefers inshore fish such as Sélar, 
Bawal, Ténggiri and Parang and such fish can only be caught in 
commercial quantities within the territorial waters of neighbouring 
countries. It is clear that, until such time as these fish are found 
in commercial quantities in the offshore areas of the South China 
Sea or until the pattern of consumer preference has changed in 
favour of offshore bottom fish such as Ikan Mérah and Keérisi 
China, the exploitation of offshore fishing grounds cannot pro- 
ceed beyond the existing level. 

There has been no change in the system of marketing of fish; 
fresh fish is landed at various points on the island and auctioned 
at two City Council and three private wholesale markets. Auctions 
are conducted by wholesale agents who receive a commission from 
the fishermen and fish importers and pay a fee to the market 


owner. The amounts of fish handled by these auction markets are 
as follows: - 


AMOUNT OF FISH HANDLED BY AUCTION MARKETS 


(Tons) 
1957 1958 1959 
Local Production re 5,188.6 5,274.4 5,260.7 
Imports from Indonesia Mes 1,744.2 .. 2,032.8 1,606.8 
Imports from Sarawak, Borneo, 
Vietnam, Burma, etc. ma 30.0 55.9 100.7 - 
Imports from Federation of 
Malaya see an 3,269.0 3,283.4 3,917.1 


10,231.8 10,646.4 10,885.3 


180 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Both wholesale and retail prices of fresh fish were much lower 
in 1959 as compared with prices in 1958. This is illustrated in 
the prices detailed below: 


AVERAGE PRICES OF FRESH FISH 


(Per Kati) 
1958 1959 

Wholesale Retail Wholesale Retail 

$c. $ c. $c. $c. 

Bawal Puteh ee 2 12 2 35 1 68 1 91 
Bawal Hitam ee 1 28 1 41 1 04 1 17 
Kurau 1 67 2 58 1 56 2 45 
Senangin 1 40 1 54 1 33 1 37 
Tenggiri 1 13 1 26 1 03 1 15 
Belanak ... ia 1 11 1 22 98 1 11 
Merah ... it 38 50 35 48 
Chencharu sae 58 68 48 59 
Talang ... sale 39 50 30 41 
Parang Parang whe 1 05 1 19 94 1 08 
Terubok a 76 87 73 85 
Yu eis oe 29 39 25 37 
Pari a 25 35 Z2 34 
Prawns (large) debe 2 13 2 49 1 97 2 25 
Gelama ... ve 29 39 26 39 
Bilis it — 42 51 45 57 
Kembong aes 60 69 48 60 
Selar_... des 1 01 1 14 90 1 03 
Tamban ... ee 25 34 21 33 
Ikan Buat Baja... 11 16 10 15 


(One Kati equals 14 Imperial Pounds) 


The main causes for the recession in prices of fresh fish are 
believed to be (i) lack of purchasing power among the consumers 
and (ii) heavy imports of certain types of cheap fish from China. 

The pilot Fisheries Training School which was started at Tanjong 
Kling twoards the end of 1958 was continued in 1959. The course 
started with 43 students and ended with 20 students, as 23 
students left the course during the year. They were taught the 
construction and use of different types of fishing gears such as 
Peélontang (Floated line), Rawei Umpan (long-line), Bubus (Fish 
pots) and Jarings (drift nets). They also received instruction in 
elementary hydrology, preservation and storage of fish, engine 


COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 181 


maintenance and repair, fish canning and construction of kolehs. 
A total of 29 outboard engines were repaired by the students. 
The results of this pilot training scheme were gratifying in that 
the students were very keen. In fact they built the training centre 
themselves with materials provided by Government. They are now 
an asset to the village in that they are now self-employed fisher- 
men and assist other fishermen to repair their engines. 


CO-OPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT 


Most of the registered Co-operative Societies showed general 
progress during the year. 13 of these Co-operative Societies sub- 
scribed a sum of $402,000 to the Singapore Development Loan 
of $25,000,000, whilst a number of societies which held the S.S. 
War Loan Stocks 1940/1959 converted their stocks to the 
$15,000,000 5 per cent Development Loan. 

Many of the rural Co-operative Societies, the members of which 
were farmers and fishermen, were not progressing well so that 
special attention is being devoted to the problems of these societies 
with a view to their re-organisation. 

The following illustrates the position in respect of Co-operative 
Societies in Singapore: 

No. of Member- ___ Paid up Shares| Reserve 


Societies ship Subscriptions Fund 
1958 ‘et 102 34,584 10,659,988 351,893 
1959 ve 106 34,050 12,616,362 575,858 


VETERINARY SERVICES 


The Government Veterinary Division continues to be responsible 
for: 
(i) the prevention and control of diseases; 
(ii) animal husbandry and research. 


Functions of the City Council Veterinary Department are 
supervision of meat inspection, running of the Animal Infirmary 
and implementing legislation associated with prevention of cruelty 
to animals, as well as licensing of dogs, and animal and bird shops 
within City Limits. 

Towards the latter part of the year, plans were under way to 
integrate the Government and City Council services under one 
organisation. 


182 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Disease Control 


Singapore continues to enjoy freedom from serious epidemic 
animal diseases found under tropical conditions such as Anthrax, 
Foot and Mouth Disease, Rinderpest, Rabies, Glanders and 
Contagious Pleuro Pneumonia. This has been brought about as 
a result of strict control measures against the importation of 
animals and animal products from areas where these livestock 
diseases are prevalent. During the year 10,479 cattle, 126,199 sheep 
and goats, 28,268 pigs, 361 dogs, 279 cats, 592,180 chicks, 98 
horses, 1,652 monkeys were imported into or transhipped through 
Singapore. 

The existing quarantine stations at Telok Ayer Basin and Beach 
Road have limited accommodation for the quarantine of imported 
livestock. With the irregular animal traffic, the Division has 
occasionally been embarrassed with a sudden influx of animals. 
This sometimes lead to inconvenience to importers. 

As a measure to reduce epidemics, preventive inoculations and 
vaccinations against Ranikhet disease and Fowl Pox in Poultry, 
as well as Hemorrhagic Septicemia in pigs were carried out as 
free services provided by the Veterinary Divisions; during the 
year about 6,700,000 poultry and 13,926 pigs were inoculated. 
Curative treatment was also given when cases were reported to 
the Veterinary Division. Two travelling dispensaries operated in 
the rural areas to sell non-Scheduled drugs at fixed prices to 
farmers. 


Animal Husbandry and Research 


There is ample room for the improvement of animal manage- 
ment methods practised by local farmers. Mortalities largely due 
to poor husbandry could be much reduced with improved 
methods. To this end, attempts are being made in the field to 
educate the farming community. 

Research work was continued at the Sembawang Research 
Station which was completed early this year. A constructive breed- 
ing group of crossbred pigs has been evolved. These pigs are 
capable of reaching the local marketable weight of 133 lb. between 
18/24 weeks with a mean of 21.9 weeks. Their sows have a 
prolificacy level of 10 piglings per litter. Boars and sows in excess 
of breeding requirements within the group are distributed to 
farmers. In addition British bred and highly graded boars are used 
for free services to the sows of farmers at four centres. 

Experiments conducted show that local (Canton type) birds 
could lay a least 40 per cent of eggs when properly selected and 


Singapore continues to be free from serious animal diseases found under 

tropical conditions as a result of strict control measures against the importa- 

tion of animals and animal products. Continued research work was carried 

out at the Sembawang Research station. It also conducts experiments in the 

field of animal husbandry to improve the levels of production, especially of 
pigs and poultry. 





Min. of Culture 


Pictures show eggs being examined before going to the incubators (above) and 
the debeaking of chickens (below) 





Digitized by Google 


COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 183 


fed. By judicious cross-breeding to introduce the characteristic of 
non-broodiness of the foreign bird into the local type of birds, 
several families of cross-breds (Canton/ Brown Leghorn) have been 
produced which recorded a production level of over 50 per cent 
lay. An auto-sexing breed is also being evolved and results are 
encouraging. It is expected that distribution of day old chickens 
from the first two of these strains will be made to farmers during 
1960. 

Marked improvements have been brought about to date in levels 
of production. It must be realised, however, that improvement of 
animal production by genetical processes requires time, which is 
a critical factor in bringing about maximal effects. To date, only 
about 30 months have elapsed since the work began. Further 
improvement can be expected in succeeding generations so that 
the continuation of these experiments is, from the scientific point 
of view, most important. The tables of statistics of the livestock 
industry for 1959 are appended at the end of this Chapter. 


AGRICULTURE 


The climate in Singapore is almost unchanging throughout the 
year. The only exception is the greater rainfall during the last 
three months, which, by causing flooding, may reduce cropping 
in certain sites. Apart from this, crops can be grown equally well 
throughout the whole twelve months, which gives the farmers a 
great advantage over those in other lands, where the growing 
season for most crops is generally less than eight months. There 
is, however, the disadvantage in the climate, that the short days 
and high, almost unvarying, temperatures render it impossible to 
grow those biennial crops which are normally harvested during 
the resting stage. This includes especially the hearted cabbages 
and onions or garlic, all of which are popular vegetables, which 
are imported from abroad, and from the Cameron Highlands of 
the Federation of Malaya. 

Generally speaking, however, the climate is very suitable to fast 
vegetative growth, and the local farmers take advantage of this 
fact, where the soil is fertile and plenty of water is available, to 
engage in highly intensive market gardening. This form of 
husbandry is extremely efficient, and the farmers are ready to 
adopt various modern techniques which can either improve their 
results or the profitability of their enterprise provided that they 
are convinced that the practice will be profitable. This is parti- 
cularly shown in their attitude to insecticides. Before the war, 
all farmers relied on derris, which was a local product, but 


184 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


quickly changed to D.D.T. and lindane when these were introduced. 
The insect pests subsequently became resistant to the chlorinated 
hydrocarbon insecticides, however, after which the farmers changed 
in turn to the use of non-poisonous organo-phosphorus insecticides, 
which are now widely used. The import of the highly poisonous 
phosphorus insecticides is prohibited. 

In regard to manures, however, except for one or two growers, 
they have proved rather conservative, and remain faithful to their 
traditional manure, prawn dust. This organic manure, however, 
is expensive and the Department is actively experimenting with 
alternatives. One alternative which was tried, was the effluent water 
from the sewage works, which was found, however, to be in- 
sufficiently concentrated in nutrients to be worth the expensive 
piping necessary to carry it to the vegetable growing areas. 
Another more promising substance is the dried sewage sludge 
which after fortification with four different formulations of chemical 
fertiliser, is being tried. Results up to the end of the year were 
variable in that floods and the sandiness of the soil in the Depart- 
inent’s experimental station rendered impossible the growing 
of the two vegetables selected for these trials, namely Choy Sam 
(Brassica chinensis var. communis T. & L.) and Kai Choy (B. 
junces var. rugosa Bailey). These experiments are to be continued 
during 1960. 

Elsewhere, since the soil is less fertile and less water is available, 
vegetable growing is much less intensive. Therefore, in order to 
make a comparable living, the farmer must cultivate a larger plot 
of land, and it is the labour required in digging the land in pre- 
paration for each crop that is the factor limiting the area the 
farmer can cultivate, and the time taken over this operation is 
potential cropping time lost. 

A certain number of ploughing contractors started operations 
in Singapore, using tractor ploughs to cultivate the farmers’ land, 
for which they charged $60 to $80 per acre for ploughing new 
land once. In October the Department purchased a tractor and 
cultivating equipment, primarily for use on its own experimental 
station, but which has been used also to provide a trial ploughing 
service for the farmers in Sembawang, Yio Chu Kang and Ponggol 
areas, which can be conveniently reached from the tractor’s 
headquarters. The charges for ploughing and cultivating are less 
than half those of the private contractors. Between 19th October, 
when the service started, and the end of year, 14} acres, in 34 
different plots, had been ploughed. It is anticipated that the 
demand will be considerably greater during 1960, since the last 


COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 185 


two months of the year being wet, result in less cultivation being 
done in that period than during the remainder of the year. 
During April and May, a survey of the production of vegetables 
in Singapore was undertaken by the Department with the assistance 
of the Rural Development Division. Farming areas in all parts of 
the island were visited in turn on at least two days in succession 
at the time that the farmers were selling their vegetables. These 
times varied between 3.00 a.m.. and 9.30 p.m. The weight of each 
type of vegetable was recorded, and totals compiled for each type 
and each area. From the overall results it is now clear where each 
vegetable is produced in the largest quantities, and which areas 
are the largest producers. It was found that the average daily 
total of farm sales was 95 tons of vegetables of the 57 types grown. 


Table I 
TOTAL NUMBER OF ANIMALS SLAUGHTERED AT CITY ABATTOIR, 1959 
- Country of Origin Oxen Buffaloes Sheep Goats Swine Total 


Singapore .. bg 547 93 - 1,173 425,629 427,442 
Australia .. - 563 81,371 2,114 oa 84,048 
Federation of Malaya .. 10 7 ae me 8,887 8,897 
Indonesia .. .. 4,758 820 wy 6 1,926 7,510 
Thailand .. Ae, ath 2,466 he re id 2,466 

Total .. 5,686 3,379 81,371 3,293 436,442 530,363 

Table II 
COMPARATIVE NUMBER OF ANIMALS SLAUGHTERED AT CITY COUNCIL ABATTOIRS 
1953—1959 
1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 

Cattle .. 5,568 4,390 4,233 3,057 4,004 5,102 5,868 
Buffalo ee 1,101 1,825 2,482 3,437 2,516 862 3,379 
Sheep .. 56,506 60,868 63,868 64,636 69,073 74,018 81,371 
Goats .- 2,022 2,237 411,776 2,918 3,636 4,225 3,293 
Pigs .. 237,853 318,575 355,209 431,373 420,864 417,199 436,452 


Total .. 393,050 387,895 427,490 505,421 500,093 501,406 530,363 


186 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Table 11] 
PIGS SLAUGHTERED AT THE CITY COUNCIL ABATTOR 
—— 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 


(a) Total Abattoir figures -- 327,853 318,575 355,209 431,373 420,864 417,199 436,452 
(6) Total Island production .. 322,287 287,323 310,088 412,107 401,944 400,518 425,629 
(c) Total Import from Overseas 4,722 482 2,412 705 7,295 6,631 1,926 


(d) Total from Federation ah 
Malaya 844 29,770 42,709 18,560 11,625 10,050 8,897 








Percentage singapore Pro- 
duction : ee 98.3% 90.2% 87.2% 95.5% 95.5% 960% 97.5% 





ir ee ee 





Note:—-These figures only show slaughter total of pigs from the single City Council Pig Abattoir. 
It is known that very large number of pigs are slaughtered outside the Abattoir of which no records 
are known; all these other pigs are produced on the island. 


Table IV 
ANNUAL AVERAGE RETAIL eat eli vi OF MEAT, POULTRY AND EGGS 
Article Unit 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 
$e S$e$8$e $e 8a $e $e $e Se. 
MEAT 7 : 
Beef Steak .. .. Kati 216 226 208 208 193 216 220 220 200 
Fillet Steak. . sie » 234 250 231 .. 235 235 240 240 2 25 
Mutton (local Goat) .. Lb. 310 287 281 216 215 213 215 215 2 15 
Mutton(Australiansheep) pe a 140 145 145 135 132 150 150 1 45 
Pork Lean .. .. Kati 288 297 297 300 285 2 54 280 260 2 35 
Pork Lean and fat os 
quality) .. » 243 238 237 224 222 206 230 200 200 
POULTRY 
Fowl (Crockerel) se Pr 214 218 201 181 180 1 54 1! 50 183 1 60 
Hen (Pullets) » 264 278 275 .. +202 210 200 225 2 10 
EGGS 
Duck, fresh .. perlO 152 1 54 151 £37 2113 114 110 112 1 20 
Fowl, fresh re es 157 163 165 140 122 #130 1!20 118 1 20 
Table V 
AVERAGE MARKET PRICE OF FEEDING STUFFS 1952—1959 
1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 
Pies $ per $per Sper $per Sper Sper F§per S$ per 
8: picul picul picul picul picul picul Picul picul 
Broken Rice .. 21.75 21.04 15.83 16.74 14.29 16.16 16.81 13.38 
Rice Bran .. .. 17.85 15.35 12.39 14.16 13.99 13.80 13.48 12.90 
Maize See .. 18.95 14.57 13.39 14.18 13.52 13.50 12.24 11.60. 
Tapioca Refuse .. 10.85 8.12 5.62 7.77 7.50 7.51 6.73 6.90 
Copra Cake -. 17.76. 17.13 14.22 15.71 15.55 13.53 14.35 16.70 


Groundnut Cake .. 18.76 17.76 20.51 19.45 16.77 17.14 16.41 16.85 


COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 187 


TOURISM 


The former Department of Tourism in the Ministry of Commerce 
and Industry was on 1st'September, 1959 transferred to the Ministry 
of Culture. 

The Tourist Section of this Ministry continued to produce 
tourist booklets, folders, posters, guide books and _ other 
literature. Distribution was world-wide. International contacts 
were maintained through membership of the Singapore 
Government in the Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA) 
and International Union of Official Travel Organisations 
(IUOTO). A selection of works by Singapore photographers 
was sent during the year to San Francisco for the Pacific Travel 
Photo Contest. With the co-operation of the Department of Statistics 
and the Department of Immigration, an assessment was made of 
the current intake of tourists to enable the Ministry to undertake 
a more realistic tourist promotion campaign, for which a budget of 
$369,000 was voted in 1959. Regular contributions of news items 
and features were made by the Tourist Section to travel publications 
abroad. This Section also undertook liaison work on behalf of the 
International Airport Transport Association (IATA). 

The Ministry established a centrally located Tourist Information 
Centre at Coleman Street where travellers and visitors may call for 
advice and assistance. 

The Ministry encouraged the formation of the Singapore Tourist 
Association, consisting of commercial organisations connected with 
the tourist trade. 

Daily enquiries from all parts of the world increased during the 
year and were attended to by the Tourist Section. 


FILM INDUSTRY 


The cinema is one of the most popular forms of entertainment in 
Singapore and, to meet the ever increasing demands of the cinema- 
going public, seven new theatres were opened during the year. 
This brought the total number of licensed cinemas to 32 in addi- 
tion to 42 licensed open-air cinemas. 

The majority of the cinemas are air-conditioned and equipped 
with the most up-to-date apparatus for screening the latest types 
of films produced. 

Three local production companies in Singapore produced 17 
full length films in the Malay language, several of which were super- 
imposed locally with English subtitles, thereby giving them wider 


188 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


audience appeal. Each Malay film produced has shown a technical 
improvement on its predecessor. Also there was a tendency to 
break away from the supernatural type of film in favour of his- 
torical themes. 

During the year under review 80 per cent of imported films 
carried subtitles or were dubbed in the various vernacular languages 
to suit local audiences. Many Indian films carried subtitles in both 
Rumi and English. Hong Kong supplied most of the Chinese films 
that were exhibited in Singapore. There was a significant increase 
of Japanese films dubbed into Mandarin. 

During the year under review a total of 1,767 films were sub- 
mitted for censorship made up as follows: 


35 MM FILMS 


Length Country of Origin No. Language 
Long Films 
(over 5,400 ft.) United Kingdom se 69 English 
8 United States of America 237 English 
ce Hong Kong a 80 Mandarin 
2 Hong Kong ... 174 Cantonese 
be Hong Kong bode 72 Hokkien 
es Hong Kong a 4 Teochew 
= Formosa... ot 2 Hainanese 
Gs Formosa ... _ 6 Mandarin 
< Formosa... bss 9 Hokkien 
$5 Communist China ee 10 Mandarin 
s Communist China As 1 Teochew 
ss India ae se 72 Hindustani 
India oe ss 66 Tamil 
e India ae ye 3 Malayalam 
96 Singapore... or 17 Malay 
" France se ud 13 English dialouge 
and subtitles 

- Italy ak ase 16 5 
% Other countries he 53 

Short Films 

(under 5,400 ft.) United Kingdom Stl 55 English 

o United States of America 216 English 
ss Other countries ... 100 

Advertising filmlets 300 


16 MM FILMS 


Long Films United States of America 4 English 
Long Films India son a 1 Tamil 
Short Films United States of America 11 English 


Advertising filmlets 176 


Vill INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY 


ITH THE achievement of full internal self-government in 
1959, Government created the new Ministry of Culture in 
order to channel popular thinking and feeling along national lines 
and to re-organise the Information Services and the administration 
of mass media for the dissemination of information. In the Minister 
for Culture is vested the responsibility of formulating the policies 
needed to create a common Malayan culture and to keep the people 
informed of the broad aims and objectives of the Government. 
The long term objectives of the Government which the Ministry 
of Culture had to interpret included the following: 


The creation of a sense of national identity. 
The elimination of communal divisions and attitudes. 


The propagation of democratic values, conducive to the ultimate crea- 
tion of a more just society. 


The.creation of a wide acceptance of the National Language. 
The propagation of an awareness of the ultimate objectives of com- 


plete independence through merger and of the ideals of a democ- 
ratic socialist way of life. 

In the creation of a common culture and a sense of national 
identity, the Ministry’s biggest asset was of course the historical 
fact that the people had advanced by their own struggle towards 
internal self-government. This was a solid foundation. 

But the achievement of self-government did not mean that a 
homogeneous society had already been created. It was not to be 
assumed that if a people achieved progress in the anti-colonial 
struggle and the social revolution, the communal problem in a 
multi-racial society would take care of itself. 

The Ministry’s task in this sphere was therefore to make a cons- 
cious and deliberate effort to help shape a Malayan culture. 

Different chauvinistic attitudes and prejudices had to be taken 
into account. People of varied cultural groups who in the past had 
taken their inspiration from the history and cultural heritage of the 
countries from which they originally came had to be persuaded to 
forget their alien loyalties and seek a common identity, a common 
culture in the Malayan homeland. 


190 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The Ministry had also to combat colonial legacies—for instance, 
the artificial divisions between the English-educated and the 
Chinese-educated, whose attitudes had been different in the 
colonial context. 

_Another aspect of the Ministry’s task was the continuing effort 
to win the minds of the people for the democratic ideal. Govern- 
ment had formulated the imaginative proposition that democracy 
must be much more than a mere exercise in the outward forms and 
trappings of the system. The mere exercise of the four freedoms 
and the counting of votes would not be sufficient. The democratic 
system must pave the way for the successful transformation of 
society towards a more just order. 

The Ministry’s task was to interpret this to the people in terms 
of their everyday life so that they would be proof against the oppor- 
tunists who advocate a more authoritarian way of life. The peo- 
ple’s aspirations for ultimate independence had to be correctly 
understood and channelled along the most constructive and fruit- 
ful lines. The task of explaining the issues involved and carrying 
the people with the line of policy adopted by Government fell 
mainly to this Ministry. 

In carrying out these major tasks of informing the people, the 
Ministry had at its disposal various mass media which were now re- 
organised and placed on a new footing. Multilingualism became 
the new method of communication, with the emphasis being placed 
on the National Language. Personal contact with the people was 
increased through intensified field work and cultural activities. 
Mutual understanding between different cultural groups was pro- 
moted by the reordering of the programme policies of Radio Singa- 
pore and by the regular organisation of Aneka Ragam Rakyat or 
People’s Cultural Concerts. 

The printed word was used on a more extensive scale. Popular 
participation in Government activities was encouraged by the form- 
ation of committees representative of organisations and associa- 
tions. 

The Ministry of Culture consits of seven divisions, each with a 
wide range of specialised duties: 


. Headquarters 

. News Division 

. Publicity Division 

. Broadcasting Division 
. Library Division 

. Museum Division 

. Printing Division 


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Culture 


Min. of 
Top—A unique performance by the Singapore Ballet Academy in which one sees a 
ballet with a Malayan story, music and costume. 


Pemicssteerom—Typical Chinese folk dance being performediby-apgroup Of? sthool children. 





CULTURAL AFFAIRS 191 


HEADQUARTERS 


The headquarters directs and co-ordinates the activities of the 
Divisions and provides specialised service in Translation and 
Research. 

The Translation Section of the Ministry of Culture is the central 
official translation pool of the Government. This Section monitors 
all Singapore daily newspapers in Malay, Chinese, Tamil, Mala- 
yalam and English. 

An average of 260 demands for translations from Government 
departments were met every month. There has been a steady in- 
crease in official requests for translation. The section is also res- 
ponsible for the preparation of the Singapore News Summary (a 
fortnightly review of the daily press), a daily Digest of the Non- 
English Press and a Weekly Digest of editorials appearing in the 
Non-English press. Two hundred and eighty-six copies of the Daily 
Digest were sent to Government departments and official public 
bodies. 

The Research Section maintains a research library, periodicals 
and pamphlets, and a comprehensive press cutting service. About 
80 per cent of the books in the library are on political science. The 
main function of this section is to supply information upon request 
within the shortest time possible. Inquiries are received in this 
section from Government departments, local and overseas residents. 

The Research Section also supplies data for publication in local 
and overseas reference books and prepares other informative pam- 
phlets covering a wide variety of subjects. 


NEWS DIVISION 


The News Division is responsible for the distribution of news 
and the provision of facilities for the Singapore Press and the cor- 
respondents of the international news agencies, broadcasting and 
television services and of individual overseas newspapers. Press 
Conferences are arranged for Ministers or other Government offi- 
cials or overseas visitors under official auspices. 

From June the News Room of Radio Singapore and the Press 
Section of the former Department of Information Services were 
integrated to form the News Division. This Division prepares 28. 
bulletins for broadcast daily—S in English, 4 in Malay, 3 in Tamil 


192 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


and 16 in Chinese (Mandarin and 6 other Chinese dialects). In all, 
4 hours of news bulletins are put on the air daily, the first at 7 a.m. 
and the last at 10.55 p.m. In addition to news bulletins, newstalks 
giving the background of the news of the day are also broadcast 
at an average of 3 newstalks a week in each of the four languages, 
making a total of nearly 600 newstalks for the year. Commentaries 
are also put out on Legislative Assembly meetings and the Staff of 
the News Division assist the Programmes Section of Radio Singa- 
pore in producing features. 

The City Desk of the News Division is situated on the ground 
floor of the Government Offices in St. Andrew’s Road and is open 
daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. except on Sundays and holidays when 
it is open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. 


PRESS 


As an international news centre, Singapore has its own well- 
established press, good international and internal telecommunica- 
tions links and good travel communications with the rest of South- 
East Asia. As a diplomatic and strategic centre in South-East Asia, 
it has the offices of the U.K. Commissioner-General for South-East 
Asia, headquarters of the three Armed Services, and many 
foreign consular posts. The number of overseas correspondents and 
television representatives 1959 was 26. 

The following agencies have permanent representatives in Singa- 
pore: Reuter-Australian Association Press, United Press Interna- 
tional, Associated Press (U.S.A.), Agence France Press, the Central 
News Agency of China, Kyodo News Service of Japan and the 
Pan-Asia News Agency. 

The principal journals and radio organisations of the world are 
also represented by either full-time or part-time correspondents. 

The law of the State requires printers and publishers to make a 
declaration before the Registrar of the Supreme Court concerning 
the commencement and cessation of publication of every newspaper 
and to supply three copies of each for the official archives. All 
newspapers have to be registered under the law. The Undesirable 
Publications Ordinance, 1938, was amended with effect from 21st 
October, 1955, to include publications printed unlawfully in the 
State and to provide for control of imported publications which 
are considered undesirable in the public interest. 


Min. of Culture 
Top—Malay candle dance. 


Bottom—An item contributed by the Bhaskar’s Academy of Dance Gépicting|the eventual 
integration of Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures into-a'tinified Matayvatr culture. 








Straits Times 


OC Nh. 





CULTURAL AFFAIRS 193 


IMPORTED PUBLICATIONS 


During the year under review publications imported by sea, air 
and post were examined on arrival, and those which were found to 
be prejudicial under the Undesirable Publications Ordinance were 
refused entry. 

In general, publications which were refused entry were detained. 
In the latter part of the year, it was found necessary in compliance 
with the Government’s efforts to stamp out “yellow” literature, to 
publish in the Gazette an order prohibiting the sale or circulation 
of 23 tabloid papers and 13 magazines published abroad, which 
had already been on sale in Singapore. 

During the year 64,589 publications totalling 31,237,118 copies 
and 6,935 kinds of gramophone records totalling 289,397 pieces 
imported in bulk by sea and air were examined and out of these 
793 publications representing 397,887 copies and 130 kinds of 
gramophone records representing 2,498 pieces were disallowed 
entry into the State. 


LOCAL PUBLICATIONS 


The following local publications for which permits were issued 
under the Printing Presses Ordinance were published during the 
year: 

NEWSPAPERS (DAILY) 


In Malay 2 
In Chinese 3 
In Tamil 1 
In English 3 
JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES 
In Malay ons sia ane 31 
In Chinese ao sis .. 110 
In Tamil By a ie 25 
In English ae oe .. «=: 198 
Others 2 ee ee 4 


The English dailies were the Straits Times and the Singapore 
Standard (morning) and the Singapore Free Press (afternoon). The 
Standard ceased publication during the year. 

The three Chinese dailies are the Nanyang Siang Pau, the Sin 
Chew Jit Poh, and the Nanfang Evening Post. | 

There is one Malay daily newspaper—the Berita Harian; one 
Tamil daily—Tamil Murasu; and one Malayalam daily—the Kerala 
Bandhu. | 


194 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The one bi-weekly paper—the Min Pao is published in Chinese. 

Of the five Sunday papers—the Sunday Times and Sunday Mail 
are published in English; the Nanyang Siang Pau Sunday Edition 
and the Sin Chew Jit Poh Sunday Edition are published in Chinese; 
and the Berita Minggu published in Malay. 

Besides, there are also three journals published by political 
parties in Singapore. They are the Petir of the People’s Action 
Party, published in Chinese once every fortnight, and in Malay, 
English and Tamil once every month; the People of the Singapore 
People’s Alliance published monthly in Chinese, Malay, English 
and Tamil; and the Party Rakyat’s The Voice of the People, printed 
monthly in Malay-Chinese. 


BROADCASTING DIVISION 


On 4th January, 1959, Radio Malaya ceased to exist as a pan- 
Malayan department and what had until then been its headquar- 
ters became a separate organisation known as Radio Singapore. 
With the birth of the new station serving the State of Singapore, 
the motto “From Many Cultures—One Voice” (Aneka Budaya 
Tunggal Suara) was proclaimed and it was this aim and this ideal 
that has inspired the work of this Division. 

For several years the State has had by far the highest density 
of listeners in South-East Asia representing approximately seven 
listeners per licence and by December the number of household 
licences had risen to over 120,000, a growth of over more than 
40 per cent in twelve months. It was estimated that well over 70 
per cent of the population tuned daily to the broadcasts of Radio 
Singapore. 

This encouraging response was clearly due in part to better 
inspection which resulted in less evasion of licence duty, but it 
certainly reflected also public appreciation of many of the new 
programmes introduced during the latter half of the year when 
the Ministry of Culture assumed control of Broadcasting. 


Programmes 


All four language programmes changed in character then and 
from the reaction of listeners a widespread appreciation of a new 
Malayan spirit in the programmes was noted at once. 

The Chinese Service in particular widened its appeal. The other 
three Services, too, introduced many new programmes of a Malayan 
character. With the advent of the new Government the relations 


CULTURAL AFFAIRS 195 


between the Ministries and the listening audience became more 
intimate and the latter’s reaction to this was clearly reflected in the 
response to the four-language weekly programme “Question Time” 
in which personal problems were put to the Government by the 
general public and answered on the air. 

Another example of the more intimate association of Broadcast- 
ing with the people was the big increase in the number of public 
shows, some of which raised money for charity. Apart from putting 
on its own variety performances, Radio Singapore staff, both pro- 
gramme and technical, assisted in the launching of the new public 
entertainment shows, “Aneka Ragam Rakyat”. 

Radio Singapore broadcasts in four languages—Malay, Chinese 
(Mandarin, Cantonese, Amoy, Teochew, Hakka, Hainan and Foo- 
chow), English and Tamil. Its programmes are on the air with 
short breaks from 6.30 in the morning until 11.00 at night. One 
transmitter carries Chinese programmes, another carries English 
programmes and the third transmitter is shared by Malay and 
Tamil programmes. In addition to its normal programmes Radio 
Singapore broadcasts special programmes in four languages for 
schools in Singapore and the Federation of Malaya. 

The hours of broadcasting (excluding broadcasts to schools) in 
1959 for each section were: Malay 494; Chinese 824; English 764; 
Tamil 41. Programmes of a wide variety were broadcast during 
the year including talks, features, drama, variety, outside broad- 
casts, sport, religious programmes, story-telling, adult education 
projects, discussions, specialised programmes for rural listeners, 
women, children and youth, classical and light music and pro- 
grammes for special events. 


School Broadcasts 

Progress has been hampered by lack of receivers in schools and 
not all schools made full use of these broadcasts. With the advent 
of the new government a committee on schools broadcasting was 
appointed; this committee had its first meeting in December. Alto- 
gether there are about 2,600 “listening” schools in Singapore and 
the Federation. By “listening” is meant those schools who have 
asked for teachers’ notes. They may or may not listen. The break- 
down of listening schools between Singapore (S) and the Federa- 
tion (F) is: Malay 36 (S), 866 (F); Chinese 99 (S), 519 (F), English 
281 (S), 326 (F). Subjects handled include Civics, General Know- 
ledge, English, Geography, Current Affairs, Malay, Malayan 
History: “Music and Movement”, and Stories. 


196 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Adult Education. 


One Radio Adult Education course was held during the year 
jointly sponsored by the Singapore Council for Adult Education, 
the Federation Adult Education Association, the University of 
Malaya, Radio Malaya and Radio Singapore. The course, on the 
Economy of Malaya, was given in Malay and 3,258 students from 
all over the Federation and Singapore enrolled. This was more than 
six times the number for any previous course. After the course 
was over, fifty radio students attended a national semmar in Kuala 
Lumpur organised by the Pan-Malayan Committee for Radio 
Courses. 


Radio Orchestra 


The Radio Orchestra is composed of a nucleus of staff musi- 
cians who are augmented by contract artists. The combinations 
include Tiga Sekawan, The Malayanaires, Studio Orkest Rayuan 
Sukma, the Chinese Malayanaires, Musica Viva Ensemble, Radio 
Singapore String Orchestra, Dupa Kenchana, Four with a Ham- 
mond and the Singapore Six. The Orchestra plays Asian and West- 
ern music and has won an increasing reputation for itself during the 
last three years. 


Events of the Year 


Climax of the year came with the Legislative Assembly elections 
which preceded Singapore’s attainment of full self-government. 
Over one hundred party political broadcasts including party poli- 
tical forums were given in all languages. When the new Govern- 
ment took office a greater emphasis was immediately placed on 
programmes which would build a Malayan consciousness and help 
the different communities to become integrated in a common 
nationality. For many years broadcasting had been directed towards 
breaking down communal barriers, but even greater efforts were 
made after June to “Malayanise” programmes as much as language 
difficulties would allow. During Loyalty Week in December, Radio 
Singapore built all its programmes round the theme of national 
loyalty and prepared special features, plays, talks and discussions 
in addition to a large number of outside broadcasts reflecting the 
national celebrations. 


Programme Exchange 


During the year Radio Singapore broadcast programmes from 
radio organisations in India, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, 





CULTURAL AFFAIRS 197 


Britain, Canada, the U.S.A., Thailand, Vietnam, France, the 
Netherlands, Germany, Hong Kong, Sarawak and the Federation 
of Malaya. Relations with the Federation of Malaya remained 
close and harmonious and an exchange of programmes in all 
languages was carried out to the benefit of both countries. Radio 
Malaya still takes considerably more from Singapore than Singa- 
pore receives from them and in return for this and other specific 
services the Government of the Federation of Malaya contributed 
a sum of $1,500,000 to the State for 1959. Close and regular 
liaison with all sections of Radio Malaya was maintained and 
planning meetings were held at regular intervals. The Special News 
Service is one of Radio Singapore’s sections that continued to 
serve both countries for the whole year; this section produces a 
daily monitoring digest for subscribers on both sides of the Cause- 
way. 

No major technical improvements were undertaken during 1959, 
but the high standard of technical quality was nevertheless well 
maintained and Singapore could still boast standards higher in 
many important respects than those of any other radio station in 
the region. A number of improvements were effected at the Jurong: 
transmitter station. A very weighty schedule of outside broadcast- 
ing commitments was successfully undertaken. At one point the 
assistance of the Australian Government was sought to provide 
the necessary equipment to meet the programme requirements and, 
as happened before, this aid was rapidly given. Technical plan- 
ning for the projected new Commercial Service was begun and 
research was undertaken into special equipment and studio facili- 
ties for this purpose. The audio frequency range of Radio Singa- 
pore transmissions is between 50 and 15,000 cycles per second. 
The nine studios of Radio Singapore were in use for approxi- 
mately 30,000 hours during the year and the breakdown record 
was excellent. The Jurong transmitter station of Radio Singapore 
continued to provide a three-channel short-wave service for the 
Federation of Malaya and also gave technical advice to Radio 
Malaya when this was asked for. 


The Way Ahead 


Radio Singapore is the largest publicity medium in the State ope- 
rating a full-time service in all four languages. During the year it 
received nearly 400,000 letters from listeners and broadcast about 
28,000 programmes eguivalent to 13,700 hours on the air. Owing to 
the increase in revenue from wireless licences and to the continued 


198 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


contribution from the Federation of Malaya, Radio Singapore, in 
spite of its numerous educational and information services, cost 
the taxpayer nothing. 

REDIFFUSION 


Wired broadcasting is carried out by Rediffusion Ltd., a com- 
pany which has operated under Government franchise since 1949. 
Programmes are distributed from the Company’s studios to a num- 
ber of sub-stations over lines rented from the Telephone Board. 
From there, further distribution is carried by more than 1,500 miles 
of wire laid by the Company to the loudspeakers of individual 
subscribers. The monthly rental for the Service, consisting of a 
loudspeaker and two-position selection switch, is $5. On 31st 
December, 1959, there were 42,244 loudspeakers on service. Dur- 
ing 1959 the service of Rediffusion Ltd. was extended to Serangoon 
Garden Estate, and the new Singapore Improvement Trust Estate at 
St. Michaels. 

Subscribers are able to select one of the two programmes, the 
Gold or the Silver. The Gold Network broadcasts entirely in Chin- 
ese, and the Silver Network broadcasts in English, Malay, and two 
of the main Chinese dialects. The English and Chinese programmes 
consist of about 60 per cent and 40 per cent respectively of musical 
recordings, many “Live Broadcasts” from the Company’s studios, 
outside broadcasts, transcribed programmes, and relays from Radio 
Singapore, including their main news broadcasts in all languages 
and dialects. Many of the programmes are sponsored by local and 
international advertisers. 


REDIFFUSION PROGRAMMES 
Hours per week 

English a a ee 70 
Chinese— 

Mandarin 

Hokkien ... 

Cantonese 

Teochew ... ie, bus 

Foochow ... see oe 152 

Hainanese on ioe 

Hakka... 

Shanghai ... 

Heng Hwa 

Khek euch ee 
Malay se ae es 11 

Total... 233 


CULTURAL AFFAIRS 199 


PUBLICITY DIVISION 


The Publicity Services of the former Department of Information 
Services were grouped together in one division of the Ministry and 
were responsible for informing the people of the aims, objectives, 
policies and programmes of the Government, and securing as much 
as possible, mass participation in these tasks. All matters con- 
nected with Tourism are handled by this Division and a brief 
account is to be found in Chapter VII. 

For this purpose, the Publicity Division had at its disposal the 
following media: 

The Field Section with its public address vans and film units; 
the Community Listening Sets; posters and pamphlets for mass 
distribution; the direct mailing of publicity material to individuals, 
associations and groups; the Film Production Section; exhibitions 
and sponsored tours; photographs; speeches of Ministers at public 


meetings; and the Cultural Affairs Section with its Aneka Ragam 
Rakyat, etc. 


This Division provided specialised services and teams of advisers. 
in the field of publicity to all Ministries as the need arose, e.g. the 
campaign for blood donors, the literacy drive, the reforms in labour 
legislation, the status of women, and so forth. Publicity was also 
directed at special groups for specific purposes like the foreign 
investor, the national business community, and the tourist. 


Production 


The Publicity Division through its Production Section was res- 
ponsible for the preparation and production of publicity material 
of various types—booklets, pamphlets, leaflets, folders, posters, 
wallsheets, emblems, cinema slides, banners, maps, stamp-stickers, 
postal franking, etc. They were produced in the four languages, 
usually on a mass scale both for the Ministry of Culture and for 
other Ministries of the Government. These were used both in rela- 
tion to long-term publicity objectives of the Government and for 
the immediate purposes of short-term campaigns. 

The Production Section also did all the art work required by the 
various Ministries and undertook Press advertising on behalf of all 
Government Departments. The Section was also responsible for the 
widest distribution of all publicity material. In the second half of 
1959, a total of 2,451,324 units were distributed. 

The Art Studio produced 309 items of art work during the second 
half of the year, including a design of the Singapore State Flag an 
Crest. 


200 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Exhibition 

Exhibitions were organised by this Ministry on all national occa- 
sions to demonstrate to the people how a democratic government 
works after it has derived its authority from the people. 

The Exhibition Section of the Ministry was also associated with 
every campaign launched by other Ministries of the Government. 


Field Work 

The Field Section of this division maintained daily contact with 
the masses to explain to them by the exhibition of films and by 
public address the objectives, policies and programmes of the Gov- 
ernment. Three or four units were at work every evening through- 
out the year and audiences totalling 171,000 were reached at the 
film shows during the second half of the year. 

The Field Section also undertook personal distribution of pub- 
licity material produced by the Ministry. 

This Section was responsible for the physical organisation of all 
meetings sponsored by the Government and for public address 
arrangements at all Government functions. It provided interpreters 
in the main languages and dialects. It also participated by providing 
announcers and public address vans, in campaigns launched by the 
various Ministries. 

This Section performed a vital function in reaching the masses 
with the spoken word and the visual medium of the film. The Field 
Officers of the Section also registered complaints and suggestions 
made by members of the public at the film shows. These com- 
plaints and suggestions were compiled and passed on to the various 
Ministries of the Government for consideration and action. 

The Field Section was also responsible for the management of the 
193 Community Listening Sets installed in the rural areas of the 
State and the neighbouring islands. 


Fine Arts 


The Ministry undertook a programme during the year to foster 
the evolution of a Malayan culture out of the varied heritage of our 
people. One of the Ministry’s efforts was to organise the Aneka 
Ragam Rakyat or open air variety concerts at which the art forms 
of the various cultures can inter-act and new art forms emerge 
reflecting a truly Malayan culture. These people’s concerts were 
held on national and special occasions at the City Hall Steps and 
fortnightly at different parts of the city and the rural areas. Thous- 
ands of artists participated and the audiences totalled some 320,000. 


CULTURAL AFFAIRS 20! 


So great has been the popular response to these programmes of 
cultural activity that during the National Loyalty Week in Decem- 
ber 1959, there were more than 200 cultural performances staged 
all over Singapore. Of these only four were officially organised by 
the Ministry. 

To foster and perpetuate this cultural activity, the Minister for 
Culture during National Loyalty Week launched the National 
Theatre Fund to build a million dollar open-air theatre to accom- 
modate a large number of people. 

The Ministry has also launched a four-year programme to build 
regional open air theatres all over Singapore. Most of the work on 
the first of these, the Hong Lim Green Open Air Theatre and Park, 
was completed by the end of 1959. 


Films and photography 


The film, “Forward with the People” was produced in four lan- 
guages by this Ministry for screening during National Loyalty 
Week. Plans have been drawn up for the regular production of a 
series of Government information films in 1960. The Film Section 
of this Division maintains a Film Library from which schools, 
organisations and community centres can obtain films on loan. 

Photographers of the Ministry covered the main news events of 
the year and keep a photographic record of the Government’s 
activities. These photographs are supplied to the Press and to local 
and overseas organisations on request. Over 9,000 negatives were 
exposed and 71,200 photographs printed. The exhibition Section 
maintained 75 photo-boxes in various parts of the State where 
photographs were displayed. 


FILM CENSORSHIP 


The Board of Film Censors is a Pan-Malayan body with its 
headquarters in Singapore. It censors all films for public exhibition 
and every item of publicity appertaining to films. There are, how- 
ever, separate Committees of Appeal for Singapore and the Federa- 
tion of Malaya. 

Every cinematograph film and film trailer submitted for censor- 
ship is judged on its own merit. Any visual action or passage of 
dialogue that may offend the susceptibilities of the normal cinema- 
going public, especially scenes of violence, excessive brutality, 
horror, provacative emphasis on sex, or sequences condoning anti- 
social behaviour or calculated to inflame religious feelings, are 


202 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


either deleted or moderated before a film is passed for general 
exhibition. To ensure this, all advertisements, newsreels, technical 
films and comedy shorts receive the same careful scrutiny as feature 
films. 

Under a directive agreed to by the Federation of Malaya, the 
Board carried out the policy since July 1959 to prohibit the exhibi- 
tion of all films the primary intent of which is the glorification or 
justification of colonialism or which are calculated to bring Asians 
and so-called coloured people generally into contempt, ridicule and 
hatred. 

All films must bear a censorship certificate, or mark of approval 
before release for public exhibition. Similarly every photograph, 
picture, press book or poster advertising any film must be submitted 
to the Board for approval and bear a mark showing clearly that the 
items have been passed for exhibition to the public. 


RAFFLES NATIONAL LIBRARY 


Raffles Library was formed in 1844 but was known as the Singa- 
pore Library until 1874. It remained a subscription library until 
1957 when the Raffles National Library Ordinance was passed. 
‘This provided for the management of the Library under the name 
Raffles National Library and for an island-wide library and biblio- 
graphical service. 

The Raffles National Library and the Raffles Museum were trans- 
ferred from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education to that of 
the Ministry of Culture when the new Government took office. 

The total issues of the Library increased from 505,415 in 1958 
to 654,176 in 1959, an increase of 148,761 (about 30 per cent). 
‘The issues for school children rose from 251,066 in 1958 to 
389,251 in 1959, an increase of 138,185 (55 per cent). The ratio 
of fiction to non-fiction read by children was 3:1 and by adults 2:1. 
‘The standard of reading has risen when compared with that in 1951 
in which year the ratio of fiction to non-fiction read by children 
was 9:1 and by adults 4:1. 


Membership 

Membership also has increased very rapidly ever since the library 
became free in April 1958. There was an increase in membership 
in 1959 of 11,228. The total membership of the Library including 
its four branches at Siglap, Serangoon, Joo Chiat and Yio Chu 
Kang was 31,193. Junior membership alone for the whole system 


CULTURAL AFFAIRS 203 


was 21,393 while adult membership was 9,800. This angurs well 
for the future of the Library service as it is these young people that 
will be the reading public of tomorrow. Consequently, it is this 
aspect of library service on which emphasis is being placed. 

Malay, Chinese and Tamil books were well used as has already 
been mentioned above. The issue of non-English books totalled 
22,635. Of these 41,061 were children’s issues and 8,574 adult 
issues. Issues of Chinese books outnumbered those of Malay and 
Tamil. 5,002 Chinese books, 654 Malay and 2,918 Tamil books 
were issued to adults and 12,724 Chinese, 495 Malay and 842 
Tamil books were issued to children in Central and branch 
libraries. 


Reading Tastes 


More fiction was read than non-fiction and for a public library 
this is bound to be so, although the reverse is greatly to be desired. 
As for fiction, mystery is by far the most popular besides Westerns 
and historical novels. As for non-fiction the social sciences rank 
first in popularity, followed by technical books, history and bio- 
graphies, and books on art and science. 


Addition to Stock 


Altogether 23,705 books were purchased in 1959. Of this 
number 4,468 were in Malay, Chinese and Tamil. More non- 
English books were purchased this year than last year: Books 
added to stock numbered Chinese 2,041, Malay 823 and Tamil 
1,604. Of the remainder, 11,959 were books for children and 
7,278 for adults. The class of adult books to which most additions 
were made included 622 volumes on useful arts, 533 on literature, 
518 on Fine Arts, 453 on Pure Science and 451 on History. Of the 
7,278 volumes added to the adult library, 3,365 were fiction. 


Reference and Information Service 


The Reference and Information Service was well used. People 
came with enquiries of various sorts either personally, by telephone 
or by post. Directories, encyclopaedias, biographical works, trade 
and other directories, books about societies, law books, university 
calendars, syllabuses and prospectuses, books about careers and 
training for various professions are frequently in demand for con- 
sultation by students and the general public. Post graduates and 
students of the University of Malaya and the Nanyang University 
and Higher School Certificate students made great use of the 


204 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


archives material and Malaysia collections. Quite a great deal of the 
enquiries were on the natural history of Malaya, Malayan history, 
description and travels, local customs and guide books. An average 
of 25 to 30 personal enquiries are dealt with daily. 


Music Library 

Since Singapore has become more music conscious the growing 
collection in the library of vocal and instrumental sheet music, 
vocal scores of cantatas, oratorios and operas including orchestral 
and miniature scores has been greatly made use of. Music students 
taking music examinations in theory of music find text books and 
reference books m music of great help to them. 


Exhibition 

A Boys’ and Girls’ Week was held from 26th October to Ist 
November, 1959 when attractive children’s books comprising fic- 
tion, reference books and magazines in Chinese, Malay and English 
were exhibited. 

During the National Loyalty Week Exhibition held at the Vic- 
toria Memorial Hall, the library displayed attractive book jackets, 
photographs of the four branch libraries and a model of the new 
Raffles National Library building. The main emphasis was on 
Malay, Chinese and Tamil books and as a result more Malays, 
Chinese and Tamils are now making use of the library. 


New Building 
Work on the new Raffles National Library building has made 
steady progress and it is hoped to move into the new building in 
1960. 
RAFFLES NATIONAL LIBRARY 


NUMBER OF MEMBERS 








1956 1957 1958 1959 

Adult 3,707 4,186 7,408 9,800 

Junior 3,469 4,442 12,557 21,393 
Total 7,356 8,628 19,965 — 31,193° 








NUMBER OF BOOKS BORROWED BY MEMBERS 





1956 1957 1958 1959 
Adult 174,785 198,574 254,349 = 264,925 
Junior 109,584 140,404 =. 251,066 = 389,251 
Total 284,369 338,978 505,415 654,176 























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204 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


archives material and Malaysia collections. Quite a great deal of the 
enquiries were on the natural history of Malaya, Malayan history, 
description and travels, local customs and guide books. An average 
of 25 to 30 personal enquiries are dealt with daily. 


Music Library 

Since Singapore has become more music conscious the growing 
collection in the library of vocal and instrumental sheet music, 
vocal scores of cantatas, oratorios and operas including orchestral 
and miniature scores has been greatly made use of. Music students 
taking music examinations in theory of music find text books and 
reference books in music of great help to them. 


Exhibition 

A Boys’ and Girls’ Week was held from 26th October to Ist 
November, 1959 when attractive children’s books comprising fic- 
tion, reference books and magazines in Chinese, Malay and English 
were exhibited. 

During the National Loyalty Week Exhibition held at the Vic- 
toria Memorial Hall, the library displayed attractive book jackets, 
photographs of the four branch libraries and a model of the new 
Raffles National Library building. The main emphasis was on 
Malay, Chinese and Tamil books and as a result more Malays, 
Chinese and Tamils are now making use of the library. 


New Building 
Work on the new Raffles National Library building has made 
steady progress and it is hoped to move into the new building in 


1960. 
RAFFLES NATIONAL LIBRARY 


NUMBER OF MEMBERS 








1956 1957 1958 1959 

Adult 3,707 4,186 7,408 9,800 

Junior 3,469 4,442 12,557 21,393 
Total 7,356 8,628 19,965 — 31,193° 








NUMBER OF BOOKS BORROWED BY MEMBERS 





1956 1957 1958 1959 
Adult 174,785 198,574 254,349 264,925 
Junior 109,584 140,404 =. 251,066 = 389,251 
Total 284,369 338,978 505,415 654,176 























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CULTURAL AFFAIRS 205 


RAFFLES MUSEUM 


The Raffles Museum was established in its present site in 1887 
in the front block of the present buildings. The rear block was 
added in three sections, built in 1906, 1914-16 and 1926: the 
bridge gallery was constructed in 1932. The collections are prepon- 
derantly of Malaysian natural history, enthnography and antiquities. 
The exhibition galleries and cases have been completely modern- 
ised and fluorescent lighting installed. The main collections of pre- 
historic and archaeological material have been rearranged. 

The average attendance was approximately 4,700 persons a week, 
or just over 244,000 annually. 

In addition to the permanent exhibits, the Raffles Museum staged 
five temporary exhibitions of photographs during the year including 
, pictures of Sarawak and China. In association with the Singapore 
Arts Council, the Museum exhibited a special selection of contem- 
porary Indian paintings and of Moghul paintings of the fifteenth to 
seventeenth centuries. These works were chosen by the National 
Gallery of Art and the National Gallery of Modern Art, in Delhi, 
and brought to Singapore by the Government of India. 


PRINTING DIVISION 


The Government Printing Office, which is responsible for the 
printing of this annual report, produces all official publications 
and controls government stationery. 

The plant is equipped with modern machinery and uses letter- 
press (flat-bed and rotary) and photo-lithographic methods. A 
modification of the British Master Printer’s Costing System is used 
to cost all processes. 

With the re-organisation of the Government machinery after 
the general election, the Printing Office became the Printing 
Division of the Ministry of Culture. Steps were taken to install an 
adequately equipped composing section to produce publications in 
Chinese. In the past very few publications were issued by Govern- 
ment in Chinese. 

The range and scope of work in the Printing Division vary 
from production of invitation cards, programmes, certificates, 
departmental forms, revenue receipt books and account books to 
Government Gazettes, Bills, Ordinances, Hansards, Estimates of 
the Revenue and Expenditure of the State of Singapore, School 
Examination Papers, Malayan Statistics, Government Directory and 
Street Directory, Guide to Singapore, Ministry of Education 
Syllabuses and Departmental and State Annual Reports. 


200 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Exhibition 

Exhibitions were organised by this Ministry on all national occa- 
sions to demonstrate to the people how a democratic government 
works after it has derived its authority from the people. 

The Exhibition Section of the Ministry was also associated with 
every campaign launched by other Ministries of the Government. 


Field Work 

The Field Section of this division maintained daily contact with 
the masses to explain to them by the exhibition of films and by 
public address the objectives, policies and programmes of the Gov- 
ernment. Three or four units were at work every evening through- 
out the year and audiences totalling 171,000 were reached at the 
film shows during the second half of the year. 

The Field Section also undertook personal distribution of pub- 
licity material produced by the Ministry. 

This Section was responsible for the physical organisation of all 
meetings sponsored by the Government and for public address 
arrangements at all Government functions. It provided interpreters 
in the main languages and dialects. It also participated by providing 
announcers and public address vans, in campaigns launched by the 
various Ministries. 

This Section performed a vital function in reaching the masses 
with the spoken word and the visual medium of the film. The Field 
Officers of the Section also registered complaints and suggestions 
made by members of the public at the film shows. These com- 
plaints and suggestions were compiled and passed on to the various 
Ministries of the Government for consideration and action. 

The Field Section was also responsible for the management of the 
193 Community Listening Sets installed in the rural areas of the 
State and the neighbouring islands. 


Fine Arts 

The Ministry undertook a programme during the year to foster 
the evolution of a Malayan culture out of the varied heritage of our 
people. One of the Ministry’s efforts was to organise the Aneka 
Ragam Rakyat or open air variety concerts at which the art forms 
of the various cultures can inter-act and new art forms emerge 
reflecting a truly Malayan culture. These people’s concerts were 
held on national and special occasions at the City Hall Steps and 
fortnightly at different parts of the city and the rural areas. Thous- 
ands of artists participated and the audiences totalled some 320,000. 


CULTURAL AFFAIRS 201 


So great has been the popular response to these programmes of 
cultural activity that during the National Loyalty Week in Decem- 
ber 1959, there were more than 200 cultural performances staged 
all over Singapore. Of these only four were officially organised by 
the Ministry. 

To foster and perpetuate this cultural activity, the Minister for 
Culture during National Loyalty Week launched the National 
Theatre Fund to build a million dollar open-air theatre to accom- 
modate a large number of people. 

The Ministry has also launched a four-year programme to build 
regional open air theatres all over Singapore. Most of the work on 
the first of these, the Hong Lim Green Open Air Theatre and Park, 
was completed by the end of 1959. 


Films and photography 

The film, “Forward with the People” was produced in four lan- 
guages by this Ministry for screening during National Loyalty 
Week. Plans have been drawn up for the regular production of a 
series of Government information films in 1960. The Film Section 
of this Division maintains a Film Library from which schools, 
organisations and community centres can obtain films on loan. 

Photographers of the Ministry covered the main news events of 
the year and keep a photographic record of the Government’s 
activities. These photographs are supplied to the Press and to local 
and overseas organisations on request. Over 9,000 negatives were 
exposed and 71,200 photographs printed. The exhibition Section 
maintained 75 photo-boxes in various parts of the State where 
photographs were displayed. 


FILM CENSORSHIP 


The Board of Film Censors is a Pan-Malayan body with its 
headquarters in Singapore. It censors all films for public exhibition 
and every item of publicity appertaining to films. There are, how- 
ever, separate Committees of Appeal for Singapore and the Federa- 
tion of Malaya. 

Every cinematograph film and film trailer submitted for censor- 
ship is judged on its own merit. Any visual action or passage of 
dialogue that may offend the susceptibilities of the normal cinema- 
going public, especially scenes of violence, excessive brutality, 
horror, provacative emphasis on sex, or sequences condoning anti- 
social behaviour or calculated to inflame religious feelings, are 


202 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


either deleted or moderated before a film is passed for general 
exhibition. To ensure this, all advertisements, newsreels, technical 
films and comedy shorts receive the same careful scrutiny as feature 
films. 

Under a directive agreed to by the Federation of Malaya, the 
Board carried out the policy since July 1959 to prohibit the exhibi- 
tion of all films the primary intent of which is the glorification or 
justification of colonialism or which are calculated to bring Asians 
and so-called coloured people generally into contempt, ridicule and 
hatred. 

All films must bear a censorship certificate, or mark of approval 
before release for public exhibition. Similarly every photograph, 
picture, press book or poster advertising any film must be submitted 
to the Board for approval and bear a mark showing clearly that the 
items have been passed for exhibition to the public. 


RAFFLES NATIONAL LIBRARY 


Raffles Library was formed in 1844 but was known as the Singa- 
pore Library until 1874. It remained a subscription library until 
1957 when the Raffles National Library Ordinance was passed. 
‘This provided for the management of the Library under the name 
Raffles National Library and for an island-wide library and biblio- 
graphical service. 

The Raffles National Library and the Raffles Museum were trans- 
ferred from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education to that of 
‘the Ministry of Culture when the new Government took office. 

The total issues of the Library increased from 505,415 in 1958 
to 654,176 in 1959, an increase of 148,761 (about 30 per cent). 
‘The issues for school children rose from 251,066 in 1958 to 
389,251 in 1959, an increase of 138,185 (55 per cent). The ratio 
-of fiction to non-fiction read by children was 3:1 and by adults 2:1. 
‘The standard of reading has risen when compared with that in 1951 
in which year the ratio of fiction to non-fiction read by children 
‘was 9:1 and by adults 4:1. 


Membership 

Membership also has increased very rapidly ever since the library 
became free in April 1958. There was an increase in membership 
in 1959 of 11,228. The total membership of the Library including 
its four branches at Siglap, Serangoon, Joo Chiat and Yio Chu 
Kang was 31,193. Junior membership alone for the whole system 


CULTURAL AFFAIRS 203 


was 21,393 while adult membership was 9,800. This angurs well 
for the future of the Library service as it is these young people that 
will be the reading public of tomorrow. Consequently, it is this 
aspect of library service on which emphasis is being placed. 

Malay, Chinese and Tamil books were well used as has already 
been mentioned above. The issue of non-English books totalled 
22,635. Of these 41,061 were children’s issues and 8,574 adult 
issues. Issues of Chinese books outnumbered those of Malay and 
Tamil. 5,002 Chinese books, 654 Malay and 2,918 Tamil books 
were issued to adults and 12,724 Chinese, 495 Malay and 842 
Tamil books were issued to children in Central and branch 
libraries. 


Reading Tastes 


More fiction was read than non-fiction and for a public library 
this is bound to be so, although the reverse is greatly to be desired. 
As for fiction, mystery is by far the most popular besides Westerns 
and historical novels. As for non-fiction the social sciences rank 
first in popularity, followed by technical books, history and bio- 
graphies, and books on art and science. 


Addition to Stock 


Altogether 23,705 books were purchased in 1959. Of this 
number 4,468 were in Malay, Chinese and Tamil. More non- 
English books were purchased this year than last year: Books 
added to stock numbered Chinese 2,041, Malay 823 and Tamil 
1,604. Of the remainder, 11,959 were books for children and 
7,278 for adults. The class of adult books to which most additions 
were made included 622 volumes on useful arts, 533 on literature, 
518 on Fine Arts, 453 on Pure Science and 451 on History. Of the 
7,278 volumes added to the adult library, 3,365 were fiction. 


Reference and Information Service 


The Reference and Information Service was well used. People 
came with enquiries of various sorts either personally, by telephone 
or by post. Directories, encyclopaedias, biographical works, trade 
and other directories, books about societies, law books, university 
calendars, syllabuses and prospectuses, books about careers and 
training for various professions are frequently in demand for con- 
sultation by students and the general public. Post graduates and 
students of the University of Malaya and the Nanyang University 
and Higher School Certificate students made great use of the 


204 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


archives material and Malaysia collections. Quite a great deal of the 
enquiries were on the natural history of Malaya, Malayan history, 
description and travels, local customs and guide books. An average 
of 25 to 30 personal enquiries are dealt with daily. 


Music Library 

Since Singapore has become more music conscious the growing 
collection in the library of vocal and instrumental sheet music, 
vocal scores of cantatas, oratorios and operas including orchestral 
and miniature scores has been greatly made use of. Music students 
taking music examinations in theory of music find text books and 
reference books in music of great help to them. 


Exhibition 

A Boys’ and Girls’ Week was held from 26th October to Ist 
November, 1959 when attractive children’s books comprising fic- 
tion, reference books and magazines in Chinese, Malay and English 
‘were exhibited. 

During the National Loyalty Week Exhibition held at the Vic- 
toria Memorial Hall, the library displayed attractive book jackets, 
photographs of the four branch libraries and a model of the new 
Raffles National Library building. The main emphasis was on 
Malay, Chinese and Tamil books and as a result more Malays, 
Chinese and Tamils are now making use of the library. 


New Building 


Work on the new Raffles National Library building has made 
steady progress and it is hoped to move into the new building in 
1960. 

RAFFLES NATIONAL LIBRARY 


NUMBER OF MEMBERS 








1956 1957 1958 1959 

Adult... 3,707 4,186 7,408 9,800 

‘Junior... 3,469 4,442 12,557 21,393 
Total... 7,356 8,628 19,965 31,193- 








NUMBER OF BOOKS BORROWED BY MEMBERS 


1956 1957 1958 1959 
Adult... 174,785 198,574 254,349 264,925 
Junior ... 109,584 140,404 251,066 389,251. - 





Total ... 284,369 








338,978 








505,415 








654,176 





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CULTURAL AFFAIRS 205 


RAFFLES MUSEUM 


The Raffles Museum was established in its present site in 1887 
in the front block of the present buildings. The rear block was 
added in three sections, built in 1906, 1914-16 and 1926: the 
bridge gallery was constructed in 1932. The collections are prepon- 
derantly of Malaysian natural history, enthnography and antiquities. 
The exhibition galleries and cases have been completely modern- 
ised and fluorescent lighting installed. The main collections of pre- 
historic and archaeological material have been rearranged. 

The average attendance was approximately 4,700 persons a week, 
or just over 244,000 annually. 

In addition to the permanent exhibits, the Raffles Museum staged 
five temporary exhibitions of photographs during the year including 
pictures of Sarawak and China. In association with the Singapore 
Arts Council, the Museum exhibited a special selection of contem- 
porary Indian paintings and of Moghul paintings of the fifteenth to 
seventeenth centuries. These works were chosen by the National 
Gallery of Art and the National Gallery of Modern Art, in Delhi, 
and brought to Singapore by the Government of India. 


PRINTING DIVISION 


The Government Printing Office, which is responsible for the 
printing of this annual report, produces all official publications 
and controls government stationery. 

The plant is equipped with modern machinery and uses letter- 
press (flat-bed and rotary) and photo-lithographic methods. A 
modification of the British Master Printer’s Costing System is used 
to cost all processes. 

With the re-organisation of the Government machinery after 
the general election, the Printing Office became the Printing 
Division of the Ministry of Culture. Steps were taken to install an 
adequately equipped composing section to produce publications in 
Chinese. In the past very few publications were issued by Govern- 
ment in Chinese. 

The range and scope of work in the Printing Division vary 
from production of invitation cards, programmes, certificates, 
departmental forms, revenue receipt books and account books to 
Government Gazettes, Bills, Ordinances, Hansards, Estimates of 
the Revenue and Expenditure of the State of Singapore, School 
Examination Papers, Malayan Statistics, Government Directory and 
Street Directory, Guide to Singapore, Ministry of Education 
Syllabuses and Departmental and State Annual Reports. 


206 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Apart from the foregoing recurrent work, this Division printed 
during the year scientific and illustrated works such as Bulletins 
of the Botanic Gardens, the Raffles Museum, and the Malayan 
Orchid Hybrids and the Malaya, not to mention publicity materials 
such as posters, pamphlets and booklets for exhibition to encourage 
the study of the National Language and also to commemorate 
occasions of national importance like Loyalty Week, etc. 

During the year production continued at a high level and 353 
tons of paper were used, an increase of 71 tons on the 1958 
consumption. 

A stand at the National Loyalty Week exhibition displayed 
the progressive stages of printing the State Crest in five workings. 
The blocks for the work were made in Singapore and the special 
lines of ink were also made in Singapore and are now marketed 
as a set under the name “Crest Series”. 


IX | EDUCATION 


HE ADVENT of the newly elected Government in June 1959 
brought about a vigorous change in the Education Policy of 
the State of Singapore. The most notable feature of which has 
been the emphasis on a common Malayan consciousness for the 
four language-streams of Education. 
This Education Policy is based on three main principles: 
(a) equality of treatment for the four language-streams— 
English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil in the order of the 
_ numbers now in schools; 
(b) the acceptance of Malay as the National Language of the 
State, and 


(c) the revision of the curriculum to emphasise practical sub- 
jects, like mathematics and science, to meet the needs 
of an industrialised society and to encourage the study 
of the languages of the State. 


The ultimate aim of these principles is to lead to a fusion of 
the four streams into one integrated whole where the rich cultural 
heritages of each will combine and expand into a nation with a 
common heritage and a single loyalty. 


PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION 


In keeping with this policy the Government introduced the six- 
day school week to keep in line with the Chinese stream so as to 
allow for a longer period of instruction to meet the added emphasis 
in the study of local languages, mathematics and science. 

The number of pupils attending schools increased by more than 
28,000 during the year and of this increase nearly 22,000 was in 
the primary school enrolment. 

Out of a total population of 318,000 children born between the 
years 1946 and 1952 who should be in primary schools, only 
226,000 are in fact attending schools. The problem of providing 
free primary education for all children of primary school age is 
formidable. There is firstly the question of finance, secondly the 
provision of school buildings in overcrowded areas where they are 


208 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


most needed and where ipso facto there is a paucity of suitable 
sites, and thirdly the training of sufficient teachers to meet the needs 
of expansion. However the problem is being tackled with vigour 
and imagination. 


Table I 
ENROLMENT IN SCHOOLS, 1957-1959 
Schools No. of Pupils No. of Pupils No. of Pupils 
1957 1958 1959 
1. Kindergarten and Infan 
Schools... on 4,139 5,652 5,629 — 
2. Primary Schools ... 220,732 244,909 266,625 
3. Secondary Schools as 37,385 42,308 48,723 
Total ... 262,256 292,869 320,977 


More than 140,000 of the total number of about 321,000 pupils 
or 44 per cent attend Government schools. Most of the Govern- 
ment schools use English as the medium of instruction. All Malay- 
medium schools are also Government schools. Most of the Chinese 
medium schools are Government-aided. Altogether 211,955 out of 
the 320,977 pupils in schools received free education in 1959. 


Table Il 
ENROLMENT BY TYPES OF SCHOOLS, 1957-1959 
No. of Pupils No. of Pupils No. of Pupils 
1957 1958 1959 




















Government | 
English... - 85,042 100,719 117,765 
Chinese... see 3,647 4,831 6,564 
Malay ... pee 13,312 14,213 15,804 
Indian __..... me — — 143 

Total... 102,001 119,763 140,276 

Government-Aided 
English 32,136 33,698 36,105 
Chinese 110,228 120,774 127,387 
Malay 107 — — 
Indian 1,351 1,399 1,313 

Total 143,922 155,871 164,805 

Private (Non-aided) 

English 10,675 10,945 9,616 
Chinese 5,758 6,290 6,280 
Total 16,433 17,235 15,896 

Grand Total 262,356 292,869 320,977 















































ADMISSION TO SCHOOLS 


Chart showing numbers of children in the first year class of Primary Schools. 


1956 1957 1956 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 


Graph AE: Actual enrolment of First Year 
pupils in Primary Schools, 


CNote: This Includes retentions. ) 


Graph BF: Estimated number of children 
eligible for admission to the 
first year class of the Pr. Schoc 


Le. 6 years before. 


Primary 1 pupils in 
Chinese Schools. 


Primary ! pupils in 
English Schools. 


pit | AT 
ams 


Darjah | pupils in 
Malay Schools. 


Primary § pupils in 
Tamil Schools. 


Hit | tA 
Lit | | [A 


ii. 





This Is based on birth figures 


ADMISSION TO SCHOOLS 


Graph showing possible and actual enrolments of the first yeer class In Secondary Schools 


n,n a] (> | cn’? nC 





60, 000 0, 000 
55,000 55,000 
50, 000 50,000 
45, 000 45, 000 
40, 000 40, 000 
35, 000 35, 000 
30, 000 30, 000 
25,000 25,000 
20, 000 20, 000 
15, 000 15, 000 
10, 000 10, 000 
5,000 5,000 
° 1956 1957 195¢@ 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 : 
Reference BF ~ Estimated enrolment based on AE - Actual enrolments. 


birch figures of 13 years before. C ~ Chinese School enrolments, 
E « English School enrolments. M - Malay School enrolments. 


AN ATTEMPT TO SHOW GRAPHICALLY THE INCREASE 
IN SCHOOL ENROLMENT AND COMPARISON BETWEEN 
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY ENROLMENTS 

COMPARISON BETWEEN PR. & SEC 


“JENROLMENTS [OF AIDED & fOVT. 4 SCHS. “a 
€ WIDTH IGHT TILTING-UP 
—E _ENRC oF my YEAR'OF THE PR. COURSE oe /| 
Pos wea 
ya 















ES@ SCHOOLS & THAT OF THE FIRST Y 


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ME NT. 
ITE} STEEPLY AT |THE END. 


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~-- THE ENROLMENT OF UNAIDED 
CONDUCTING REGU SCHOOL CC 
(INCL. K'IGARTEN.) THE GRAPH Is E 
MENT AVE we 


SCALE Ai I «10000 dea 


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EDUCATION 209 


All building proposals for 1957 and 1958 were shelved because: 
of the standstill budget but provision was made in the 1959 Es- 
timates for the building of four 3-storey Primary schools, two 
single-storey Primary Malay schools and two Secondary schools. 
At the beginning of July 1959 the Building Programme was ‘frozen” 
and it was not until September that funds were released. One 
Primary school started in 1958, was completed in early 1959 and 
the construction of one 3-storey Primary school and a single-stream: 
Malay school was begun towards the end of the year. 

During the intermission in the building programme the Public 
Works Department designed a standard four-storey Primary school 
of 24 classrooms for the 1960 Building Programme and after. This. 
new type of school will be more compact and will therefore be- 
more suitable for densely populated areas where land is scarce. A 
distinctive feature of this new type of school is that it allows for 
adaptation to sites of varying configuration and levels without 
change in its structural design. 

A six-storey school based on this four-storey model was also: 
planned and this school is expected to be completed in early 1961. 


SYLLABUSES AND TEXTBOOKS 


To bring about an integration of the diverse pattern of the State’s: 
education several common syllabuses were issued and with the 
coming of the present Government all the syllabuses came under. 
review. 

A Syllabuses and Textbooks Standing Committee was set up as. 
a sub-committee of the Educational Advisory Council with further 
sub-committees to represent the four streams of schools, and 14 
Subject Committees to cover the various subjects of the school cur- 
riculum. 

Textbooks were reviewed and every effort made to get the best. 
possible Malayanised versions for a common curriculum. 

Conferences for teachers and seminars were also organised for 
the four streams of schools. | | 

Effective use was made of Visual Aids throughout the year and 
the Free Textbook Scheme continued to operate so successfully that: 
no needy child was deprived of education merely on the grounds: 
of inability to buy school textbooks. 


PHYSICAL EDUCATION 


In August 1959, four Physical Education Specialists returned: 
from England of whom two were attached to the Teachers’ Train- 
ing College and two to the Inspectorate. This has helped greatly: 


210 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


in the teacher-training programme at the College, where Physical 
Education is a compulsory subject for trainees, and in the super- 
vision of Physical Education in schools. 

Every type of major game was played in the schools and facilities 
for swimming improved since pupils were allowed the free use of 
all public swimming pools. Gymnastics has taken a firm hold in all 
Secondary schools and girls’ schools showed a keener interest in 
hockey and basketball. 

During the year the facilities at the Singapore Youth Sports 
Centre were put at the disposal of the Ministry of Education and 
organised coaching in basketball, badminton and gymnastics by the 
instructors of the Centre helped greatly in improving the standard 
. Of these games in most Secondary and Middle schools. 

Inter-school and inter-State competitions were organised in all 
the major games and an encouraging feature was the greater inter- 
mingling of students from all the language groups. Competitions 
were organised for the participation of all the groups and com- 
bined school teams were chosen from all streams. Plans for the 
organisation of all sports on a non-communal basis were almost 
completed by the end of the year. 

One problem has been the lack of sufficient playing-fields for 
many of the Chinese, Malay and Indian schools but arrangements 
were made for sharing the facilities of more fortunate schools. An- 
other problem was the shortage of school servants which resulted 
in insufficient maintenance of school fields. 

The highlights of 1959 were for participation of thousands of 
school children in the Singapore Constitution Exposition, the Arts 
Festival and the Loyalty Week displays of mass-drill and mass 
dances. 

TEACHER TRAINING 


From humble beginnings the Teachers’ Training College has 
grown into one of the largest teacher-training institutions in South- 
East Asia. It now has a library, two science laboratories, an arts 
and crafts block, an audio-visual aids studio, specially equipped 
Tooms for mathematics, history and geography and special equip- 
ment for physical education. 

In 1950 the College trained teachers in the English medium only. 
Training of teachers in the Chinese medium began in 1954 and in 
1957 the College also assumed responsibility for training Malay 
teachers. 

In 1959 the College conducted a two-year full-time Certificate 
Course in the English and Chinese media, a three-year part-time 


EDUCATION 


Normal Course in English, Chinese and Malay and a special course 


for “Teachers trained under other Schemes’ in Malay only. 


In keeping with the policy of encouraging the study of Malay 
as the National Language the College introduced a special course 
in Malay for more than 1,500 qualified teachers. 

In October 1959 a committee was appointed by the Minister 
for Education to make detailed recommendations for the introduc- 
tion of a single system of part-time teacher-training applicable to 
all language media and it is expected that this will have far-reaching 


effects on teacher training in Singapore. 


Table I 
ENROLMENT AT THE TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE, 1959 
Course Male Female Total Male Female Total 
ENGLISH 
(a) Certificate Course 
Ist year .. 30 43 73 
2nd year at. 2 60 87 
57 103 160 
(b) Normal Training Course 
ist year .. 161 192 353 
2nd year .. «144 169 313 
3rd year ie. eae 166 398 
537 $27 1,064 
CHINESE 
(a) Certificate Course 
Ist year i vam 992 25 77 
2nd year wad 5 4 9 | 
57 29 86 
(b) Normal Training Course 
Ist year ... 218 180 398 
2nd year ... 149 171 320 
3rd year re 2 | 69 140 
438 420 858 
MALAY. 
(a) Normal Training (Special) Course 
Ist year sae 3 5 8 
2nd year es 5 2 7 
3rd year a 7 1 8 
15 8 23 
(b) Under Other Schemes 
Ist year ne 8 21 29 
2nd year .. «32 5 37 
3rd year aes 5 5 10 
45 31 716 
(c) Malay Course for Qualified Teachers 
; 937 622 1,559 
Grand Total 2,086 1,740 3,826 


212 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Table Il 
NUMBER OF TEACHERS WHO COMPLETED TRAINING IN 1959 
COURSE No. of Teachers 
English Medium 
Certificate Course aed fe .. 83 
Normal Course—June oes ae ... 101 
Normal Course—December oe ... 268 
Chinese Medium 
Certificate Course—December Mex the 8 
Certificate Course—August ... 113 
Malay Medium 
Under other Schemes—January ans me 3 
Under other Schemes—August ae .. 10 
Total ... 599 


TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 


Technical and vocational education is of comparative recent 
development in Singapore. There are two Secondary technical 
schools, three trade schools and three girls’ vocational schools. 
There is also one Government commercial school. 

The Queenstown and Tanjong Katong Secondary schools were 
established about four years ago but because of the lack of technical 
teachers and workshop facilities no technical subjects (except 
technical drawing) were introduced. However, plans are well ahead 
to transform the two schools into proper technical schools in 1960. 
The students were prepared for the General Certificate of Educa- 
tion examination of the London Associated Board. 


ENROLMENT 
Queenstown Secondary School ee ... 699 
Tanjong Katong Secondary School _... .- 623 — 


Total ... 1,322 


There are three trade schools in Singapore, the Balestier Junior 
Trade School, the Malay Craft School and the St. Joseph’s Trade 
School. The first two are Government schools and the third a 








Prt me es ecaliniaa atti: 


. 


Culture 





Min. of Cu 
Top—To popularise Malay as the National language, the Ministry of Education launchej 


evening classes in Malay throughout the State. Picture shows a class in session. 
Bottom—In a Science Laboratory. 





EDUCATION 213 


Government-aided school. These schools admit pupils between the 
ages of 13 and 16 who have completed primary education. The 
schools provide pre-apprentice type of trade courses of two to three 
years duration. Mathematics, technical drawing and English are 
included in the curriculum. 


959 
School Trade Courses Available Enrolment 
Balestier Junior Trade 

hool _... ... Mechanics courses, electrical and 
radio, general building construc- 

tion es ss . 332 
St. Joseph’s Trade School Mechanics courses, carpentry 
(cabinet-making) printing, tailor- 

ing, cane-furniture making ... 250 

Malay Craft School ... Woodcraft _ .. ~=©667 

Total ... 649 


The Girls’ Vocational High School and the Maris Stella Voca- 
tional School are both Government-aided. Chinese is the medium 
of instruction in the former and English in the latter. Girls between 
the ages of 13 and 16 who have completed primary education are 
admitted. The courses include homecraft, embroidery and dress- 
making, nursing and typewriting. A third school, the Geylang Craft 
Centre is a Government school where the medium of instruction 
is Malay. | 


ENROLMENT 
Girls’ Vocational High School sh ... 459 
Maris Stella Vocational School ie .. «19S 
Geylang Craft Centre — _ ipa 2259 


Total ... 905 


Commercial education in Singapore is mainly provided by pri- 
vate schools and there is only one Government commercial school, 
the Outram Secondary School with an enrolment of 484 boys and 
13 girls in 1959. The students are prepared for the London Cham- 
ber of Commerce examinations. 


214 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


THE SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC 


As a direct result of the Government’s policy for increased em- 
phasis on technical education, the Singapore Polytechnic was re- 
organised and in 1959 courses in Engineering, Building and Archi 
tecture and Science and Technology were started. In 1960 the 
general education and stenography courses are to be discontinued 
and more stress will be given to technical courses. It has been 
decided to set local examinations for these courses instead of pre- 
paring the students for external examinations but there is no restric- 
tion on students taking external examinations if they wish to do 90. 


ENROLMENT IN THE SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC—1958 / 1959 


Department Full-time Day Release Part-time 
Engineering ee ioe 137 413 483 
Building and Architecture ... 86 97 596 
Science & Technology ae 317 30 310 
Commerce ane ae 91 — 616 
General Education xed 69 — 301 

Total... 700 540 2,306 


THE UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA 


The University of Malaya (Amendment) Ordinance, 1958 which 
became effective in January 1959 provided for the continuance of 
the University of Malaya as a single university and the establish- 
ment of two largely autonomous divisions of equal status—one in 
Singapore and one in Kuala Lumpur. 

Under the new legislation each division of the University has a 
Principal, a Divisional Council and a Divisional Senate. The Uni- 
versity as a whole is controlled by the Vice-Chancellor and the 
Central Council which has equal representation from each of the 
two Divisions. 

The University of Malaya in Singapore has faculties of Arts, 
Science and Medicine (including Dentistry and Pharmacy). The 
School of Education, which has teaching and other functions in 
the Federation of Malaya as well, is also attached to the Singa- 
pore Division. 








U9S spel] JONG JSNsSaTVPg JY} O} JISIA SIY SuliInp ‘uly YNAN Suo,g “APY ‘UOTPONp|Y JOF Josiulpy oy} s 


ainjiny) fo “uly 





he 
wher T Shand, 
ss Sex 


Min. of Culture 


Top—tThe sprawling campus of the University of Malaya. 
Bottom—The administrative and library building of Nanyang University. 








EDUCATION 215 


The building programme in 1959 in the Singapore Division con- 
tinued at a slower pace, the only major work undertaken being a 
start on the building of Stage II of the Science Block. Lack of 
funds has caused several projects to be delayed or suspended but 
at the end of 1959 a decision was taken to proceed with the re- 
novation of the central portion of the Administration Building. 


STUDENT ENROLMENT (FULL-TIME) AT THE UNIVERSITY 
OF MALAYA—1958/1959 SESSION 








Arts... a Sa 639° 
Education me Se 53 
Law... a os 75 
Science ae a 171 
Engineering diet oo 100 
Medicine ” te aa 433 
Dentistry aes as 89 
Pharmacy ve sek 12 
Total .... 1,572 
Singapore Division—Number of students a 1,472 
Kuala Lumpur Division—Number of students ... 100 


THE NANYANG UNIVERSITY 


The Nanyang University first admitted undergraduates in 1956 
and had its inauguration in 1958. In 1958 the Government set up 
a commission with the concurrence of Nanyang University author- 
ities better known as the Prescott Commission to look into the 
academic standards of the University, the adequacy of the teach- 
ing staff and equipment and of the means adopted by the Nanyang 
University for ensuring satisfactory standards of academic work 
and to make recommendations. 

The Prescott Commission inter alia recommended the formation 
of an ad hoc committee to determine the extent and sequence of 
the re-organisation deemed necessary. This Ad Hoc Committee 


216 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


headed by Dr. Gwee Ah Leng called the Nanyang University Re- 
view Committee, was appointed in J uly 1959, completed its sittings 
in November. The Government has since accepted, in principle, 
the main recommendation of this Review Committee. : 

A new Science Block was completed for use in March 1959. 

The results of the first Graduation examination held in Decem- 
ber 1959 were 437 passes out of which 201 were Arts students, 132 
Science students and 104 Commerce students. 


THE STUDENT ENROLMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY FOR 1959 was 





Arts... bes re 805 
Science es es 611 
Commerce se ose 284 

Total ... 1,700 





FURTHER EDUCATION OVERSEAS 


As a result of students finding their way to the United Kingdom 
for further studies meeting with difficulties regarding accommoda- 
tion, admission or finance, most institutions will not admit students 
unless they are sponsored by the Government of Singapore. The 
Ministry of Education has a system of sponsorship to assist students 
going abroad. The Malayan Students Department and the British 
Council co-operate with the Ministry of Education in the sponsor- 
ship programme for the United Kingdom and there is a similar 
arrangement with the Liaison Officer for Malayan Students in 
Australia. 

Courses most popular with Singapore students going overseas 
are: teaching, accountancy, law, economics, architecture, medicine, 
civil engineering and electrical engineering. 

According to records the numbers of private students known to 
be studying overseas are: 


Australia nis ve 1,200 
United Kingdom a 663 
U.S.A. oe a5 119 





Total ... 1,982 


re 


EDUCATION 217 


NO. OF OFFICERS WHO LEFT IN 1959 FOR COURSES OF STUDIES 


Course Country No. 

Departmental Training Course 

Audio-Visual Aids New Zealand __... 1 

Methods of Teaching the Deaf New Zealand __.... 2 

Methods of Teaching the Blind New Zealand J 
Departmental Scholarships 

Handcraft (Wood and Metal Work) Australia ae 5 
Non Departmental Awards 

B. A. Commerce New Zealand __... 3 

Total .... 12 


NO. OF OFFICERS WHO RETURNED FROM COURSES IN 1959 


Courses Country No. 
Departmental Training Courses 
. Audio-Visual Aids New Zealand 1 
_ Arts and Crafts Australia 
Methods of Teaching the Deaf New Zealand 1 
Departmental Scholarships 
Music United Kingdon ... 2 
- Physical Education United Kingdom ... 4 
Other Awards 
Teacher Education Course America cae 3 
Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering Australia ae 1 
B. A. (Economics) New Zealand 1 
Total ... 14 


ADULT EDUCATION 


Before the new Government took office, Adult Education was 
almost completely in the hands of the Singapore Council for Adult 
Education the bulk of whose work was done in the field of basic 
education and the monetary assistance received by the Council 
from the Government for 1959 was $500,000. The student enrol- 
ment for these classes was about 14,000 in 1958. 

When the new Government took office the Council’s efforts were 
supplemented by Government’s own scheme of popularising the 
national language, Malay, to non-Malays and it also began enrol- 
ment for literacy classes to start in 1960 which brought the total 
enrolment to approximately 37,000. 

In view of the urgent need for providing education to the large 
number of over-aged pupils who cannot find places in schools and 
the even larger number of adults who have not received any edu- 
cation at all (illiteracy is approximately 33 per cent) the Govern- 
ment considered it desirable to centralise the organisation and 


218 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


administration of adult classes. With this purpose in view the 
Government decided that a statutory board should take over the 
functions of the Singapore Council for Adult Education as from 
the beginning of 1960 and legislation to achieve this was drafted. 

In 1959 the number of students in adult education classes were: 





Government Malay Classes ee me 10,597 
Council for Adult Education 
English ae 6.686 
Chinese sea 4.890 
Malay at 4,246 
Tamil _ 125 Pee sae 15,947 
Total... 26,544 


THE COST OF EDUCATION 


- In 1959 $63.0 million out of a total ordinary budget of $268.5 
million was spent on education. This represents about 24 per 
cent of total Government expenditure. Singapore has one of the 
highest rates of population growth in the world and with a natural 
increase of about 60,000 every year it is to be expected that there 
will be an increased demand for more schools and more teachers. 
It is estimated that in seven years time the number of children 
attending primary schools will be one-third as much again than 
the 1959 number. 

Government expenditure on education in 1959 can be broadly 
Classified as follows: 


$ 

(1) Personal emoluments to staff and teachers and main- 

tenance of Government and Government-Aided 

Schools Boe 54,418,000 
(2) Maintenance of the Teachers’ Training College aes 586,000 
(3) Scholarships and grants for free pies to school 

Children ae 96,000 
(4) State Scholarships and Bursaries to diidetits at Nan- 

yang University and University of Malaya es 836,000 


(5) Contribution to Singapore Polytechnic and contribu- 
tion to Singapore Polytechnic for eee 
Equipment and Fittings ... 1,910,000 


(6) Contribution to University of Malaya and Nauvans 
University and contribution to paerney of 
Malaya for extensions... 4 au 3,293,000 


(7) Capital Grants for Aided Schools ies 715,000 
(8) Public Works—Non Recurrent (Government Schools) 1,227,000 


63,081,000 


xX WORKS AND 
BUILDING 


WATER DEPARTMENT 


W.. THE passage of 1959, the Water Department enters 
the 103rd year of its existence as a Water Works. The Works 
was started in 1857 with a generous donation of a sum of money 
by the late Mr. Tan Kim Seng, who expressed the wish that a 
free supply of water should be made available to the poor. The 
Works was originally in the hands of the Government, and it was 
not until 1878 that it became a Municipal Undertaking. 

The Works was originally made up of a set of filter beds at 
the junction of Cavenagh Road and Bukit Timah Road, with a 
pumping station at Mackenzie Road and a service reservoir at 
Mount Emily. 

The present Works comprise three impounding reservoirs and 
two treatment works on the Island and four reservoirs, a river 
intake and two treatment works at Johore. 

The impounded water on the Island is treated at Woodleigh 
and at Bukit Timah, and is pumped from these Works direct to 
distribution and for storage at service reservoirs on the Island. 

Impounded water in Johore is treated from Gunong Pulai and 
the water is sent to Singapore by gravity. The treatment works at 
Tebrau treats the water from the Tebrau River. The water from 
this Works is pumped to Singapore. 

In 1959, a total of 507 standpipes were installed for supplying 
free water to the poor. This represents an increase of 33 per cent 
of the total number of standpipes as at the end of 1958. Of these 
254 were installed in the City and 253 in the Rural Areas. The 
total number of standpipes at the end of 1959 is 2,046—1,211 
in the City and 835 in the Rural Areas. 

The increase in the number of private services is 8,012 bringing 
the number of registered consumers to 97,389. 

The increases in the number of services and number of stand- 
pipes are reflected in the quantity of water consumed, 22,996 
million gallons, which is 1,209 million gallons in excess of the 


220 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


total consumption for 1958. The average consumption is 63 
m.g.d. compared with the average of 59.69 m.g.d. in 1958. The 
maximum daily consumption for 1959 is 72.3 m.g.d., a” the 
minimum consumption is 50.8 m.g.d. 

The provision of more services during the year was mde 
possible by the laying of 20.67 miles of 4-inch—24-inch mains on the 
Island. The total length of mains in use on the Island is 830.51 
miles. 

There was virtually no work done in 1959 to increase the 
treatment capacity of any of the Department’s Works—all work 
in this direction being directed’ towards the completion of the 
Johore River Survey, which will lead to the development of the 
Johore River Project. For a number of reasons, principally staff 
difficulties, progress with this work is not as satisfactory as desired. 

Certain staff changes were made in the latter half of the year 
to integrate the three trading Departments of the City Council. 


ELECTRICITY DEPARTMENT 


Since 1906 when the distribution of electricity by the 
Municipality commenced, the development of electricity supplies 
for the public of Singapore has been continuously accelerated to 
meet the ever increasing demands occasioned by the Island’s 
growing prosperity and modernisation. 

Initially the Municipality purchased electricity in bulk from the 
Tramway Co., but in 1926 commenced generating themselves with 
the commissioning of St. James’ Power Station. This power station 
reached an ultimate installed capacity of 37,000 kilowatts. 
Because of the difficulties in obtaining electricity generating plant 
following World War II, coupled with the rapid post war devel- 
opment, power shortages occurred during the years 1948—1952. 

In 1950 work began on the new Pasir Panjang Power Station 
and by December 1952, in what is believed to be record time, 
the first new 187,500 Ib. of steam per hour boiler and 25,000- 
kilowatt turbo-alternator was commissioned and restrictions in 
power supplies were relaxed. 

During the intervening period, 1952 to 1958, eight additional 
187,500 lb. per hour boilers and five 25,000-kilowatt turbo- 
alternators together with a 2,000-kilowatt open cycle gas turbo- 
alternator set to supply the power station electrical auxiliaries 
were installed at Pasir Panjang Power Station, which now has a 
total installed capacity of 152,000 kilowatts. 


WORKS AND BUILDING 221 


In anticipation of future load growth, plans have been finalised 
for an extension to the generating plant at Pasir Panjang by the: 
installation of a further two 187,500 Ib. per hour boilers and 
another 25,000-kilowatt turbo-alternator. Also as the steam power 
plant at St. James’ had reached the limit of its economical life: 
and judged by modern standards was inefficient, it was dismantled 
and disposed of, it’s place being taken by six 6,000-kilowatt free- 
piston gas turbo alternators, the first of which is scheduled for 
commissioning in early 1960. 

These machines are a comparatively new development in the 
field of electricity generation and because of their high thermal 
efficiency and quick starting characteristics will enable a high 
overall generation efficiency to be maintained. This installation 
at St. James’ Power Station will be the largest of its type in the 
world today. 

The combined generating capacity of Pasir Panjang and St. 
James’ Power Stations will thus reach 188,000 kilowatts by the: 
end of 1960. 

To cater for future development in Singapore and for the. 
setting up of new industries and commercial enterprises a project 
for another power station has been prepared and the preliminary 
designs finalised. 

The electricity generation programme is thus geared, not only 
to provide a supply of electricity at rates comparable, if not more 
favourable, than any other electricity undertaking in South-East 
Asia but also to afford consumers maximum security of supply 
by the provision of economic reserve of stand-by generating plant. 

The maximum load demand on the City Council’s generating. 
plant in 1959 was 113,000 kilowatts whilst the total number of 
units generated during the year amounted to 616,150,858. 

The average fuel consumption for the year ending 31st. 
December, 1959 was 0.6681 pounds per unit generated whilst 
the average gross thermal efficiency was 27.45 per cent. 

Distribution of electricity throughout the island is at the genera- 
tion voltage of 22,000 volts by means of an interconnected system. 
Secondary distribution is at 6,600 volts whilst supplies are provided 
to consumers at 400 volts 3 phase 50 cycles and 230 volts 1 
phase SO cycles. Bulk supplies are also given to large consumers. 
at 22,000 volts and 6,600 volts. All direct current supplies 
have now been discontinued. By the end of 1959 the 22,000-volt. 


222 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


distribution system comprised 47 substations, 254 miles of under- 
ground cables and six miles of overhead lines whilst the 6,600- 
volt system had 439 substations and 345 miles of underground 
cables. There were 501 miles of pilot cables and telephone cables 
associated with the distribution system. The system is continually 
developing and expanding: the following being a list indicating 
the new substations commissioned and the additional cables laid 
during the year 1959: 


22,000-Volt Substation a be 6 
6,600-Volt Substation sae a 36 
22,000-Volt Cables on ne 23,856 yards 
6,600-Volt Cables oe se 55,546 si, 
Pilot and Telephone Cables ae 90,726 i, 


The number of new consumers connected during 1959 was 
6,487 the grand total of connected consumers at the end of the 
year being 93,108. 

The total number of meters in service at the close of the year 
was 163,702. 

The charges for electrical energy as at 31st December, 1959 
are given in the following table: 


Lighting and Fans— P Veo) 
(a) For consumption not exceeding 20 units per month .... 12 


(b) For domestic consumers, for all premises which are 
charged the domestic rate for the supply of water 18 


SCHEDULE A 


For all other consumers, consumption for lighting and 
fans is charged as follows :— 


First 5,000 units per month si .. 20 
All units in excess of 5,000 per month ~~... 6 
SCHEDULE B 


Domestic Power :— 


For cooking, heating and all domestic appliances other 
than fans. Consumption in respect of lighting and 
fans is NOT included as this is covered by Schedule 
A above. 


For all consumption _... an a 6 


WORKS AND BUILDING 223 


SCHEDULE C 
Power for Lifts— 
First 5,000 units per month ee .. 20 
All units in excess of 5,000 per month ... ee 6 


SCHEDULE D 


Power for Industrial Purposes— 


First 5,000 units per month . oh, she 6 
Next 20,000 units per nant ; a 5 
All units in excess of 25,000 per conth 25 4} 


Cinemas and Amusement Parks— 


For all consumpeon eM both meneng and 
power 


The Electricity Department maintains a Hiring Section from 
whom the appliances named below may be hired at the rates 
indicated: 

Monthly Rental 


$ c. 
Ceiling Fan with Regulator a Sei 2 00 
Large Kwali Cooker (3 plates) _ me 3 50 
Large Western Cooker (3 plates) ... ee 3 00 
Medium Western Cooker (2 plates) ... a 2 00 
Table Kwali Cooker ee st. = 1 00 
Large Water Heater (12 gallons) ... a 2 50 
Medium Water Heater (3 gallons) ... a 1 50 
Small Water Heater (14 gallons)... er, 1 25 


Main switches and cooker control switches are supplied with 
large and medium cookers. 

Motors may also be hired, subject to stocks being available, 
at rates ranging from $4.50 per month for a 1 H.P. motor to 
$39 per month for a 50 H.P. motor. 

The following table shows the number of appliances on hire from 
the Electricity Department at the end of 1959: 


Ceiling Fans — es 49,459 
Water Heaters eh ne 11,176 
Cookers ... on is 24,840 
Motors _... eae a, 315 


The revenue accruing from hire charges during 1959 was 
$2,258,908. 


224 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


As in 1957, the Council decided to cease the purchase of ap- 
pliances for hire, availability of such appliances is now limited. 

The following table is a comparative analysis of the revenue 
received from the sale of electricity during 1958 and 1959: 


1958 1959 
Units Sold Revenue Units Sold Revenue 

$ c. $ c. 

‘Lighting and Fans 81,295,870 14,935,966 49 89,377,473 15,995,187 66 

Domestic .«. 147,812,038 8,920,905 66 162,151,684 9,801,007 00 

Industrial .. 253,512,141 12,465,606 84 253,389,243 12,499,405 35 
ah ane Street Light- 

ng (City) ... 8,296,582 1,006,978 61 8,825,667 1,069,098 51 
pubic Street Light- 

ing (Rural) ..» 1,262,716 239,326 80 1,320,839 264,676 16 

‘Traffic Signals... 340,005 25,370 09 341,032 25,579 92 


Grand Total ... 492,519,352 37,594,154 49 515,405,938 39,654,954 60 


Lighting of Public Streets 


During the year 1959 an equivalent of 14.06 route miles of 
Street Lighting was installed in Public Streets in the former City 
Area. 

Electric Street Lamps in Singapore—installed to M.O.T. Code— 
in Public Streets has now reached the following figures: 


Total 


Group Group Equivalent 
“A” “*B”’ ao B Mileage 
€ity Area we. 2,937 6,932 9,869 241.46 
Bukit Panjae/iurong. District ... 113 219 332 8.21 
Katong District sad wae 54 775 829 19.15 
‘Serangoon District ... as ae 670 670 15,25 
Grand Total ... 3,104 8,596 11,700 284.07 


Within this year, River Valley Swimming Pool, Havelock Park 
and Kallang Park have been added to the Public Recreation 
‘Grounds which have been lighted or floodlit. Private Street 
Lighting comprising 73 Group “A” Street Lamps was installed 
an Kallang Park. 

Major decorative lighting was carried out in conjunction with 
‘the P.W.D. during Loyalty Week when the seafront area was 
decoratively lighted from Collyer Quay to the Merdeka Bridge. 


WORKS AND BUILDING 225 


GAS DEPARTMENT 


The authority to construct a Gasworks was given to the 
Singapore Gas Company in August 1861, by the Municipal 
Commissioners, and the supply was inaugurated the following 
year. The Gas Company prospered in a modest way and fulfilled 
its primary function of lighting the Town. 

In 1901 the Company was acquired by the Municipal 
Commissioners of Singapore, who ‘deemed it proper that the 
lighting of the Town should be controlled by them, rather than 
by private individuals’. 

The gas, at this time was produced from coal. Various carb- 
onising plants, both vertical and horizontal were used between 
1901 and 1930, when a modern installation of horizontal retorts 
with mechanical coal-coke handling plant was installed, together 
with blue and carburetted water gas plants. This combination of 
gas manufacturing plant was in continuous use, apart from periods 
during the Japanese Occupation, until 1958, when the new oil 
gasification plant was commissioned. 

The new gas production plant consists of three Onia Gegi 
Regenerative Catalytic oil gas units, each capable of producing 
1,500,000 cubic feet of gas per day. They are of the latest design 
and constitute one of the most modern gasmaking techniques in 
the world today. Work commenced on the installation of a fourth 
unit during November 1959. 

The basic raw material for gasmaking is a heavy residual fuel 
oil and is the same as that currently used for the generation of 
electricity at Pasir Panjang Power Station. The department is 
therefore able to enjoy a specially reduced tariff for this type of 
fuel. The thermal conversion efficiency is of the order of 76 per 
cent, thereby enabling manufacturing costs to be substantially 
reduced. 

The steam raising plant which had formed a part of the 
programme of reconstruction carried out in 1930, proved to be 
incapable of meeting the more exacting demands of the oil 
gasification plant, and accordingly, a decision was taken to replace 
all of the existing steam raising plant. During 1959 a new installa- 
tion, comprising of two 300 H.P. Cleaver Brooks Packaged 
Boilers was commissioned, and provision made for a third unit 
to be added during 1960. At the same time a new diesel standby 


226 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


generating set was installed in order to obviate the necessity of 
having to terminate gas production in the event of a failure of 
the electrical supply to the Gasworks. 

A recent survey of the gasholders revealed that Nos. 1, 2 and 3 
were too small and too light to provide any effective storage 
whatsoever. Nos. 4 and 5 were suffering from internal corrosion 
and leaking badly, and No. 6 had subsided to the extent of 6 
inches on one side. The first remedial step was taken by ordering 
an M.A.N. waterless gasholder of 1,000,000 cubic feet capacity. 
Nos. 1 and 2 gasholders were demolished to make way for the 
new gasholder, which became No. 7, and erection thereof was 
completed in November 1959, when it was commissioned forthwith. 
No. 3 gasholder was re-sheeted and used as a buffer holder to 
balance the cyclic effects of oil gas production and No. 4 gas- 
holder was considered to be beyond repair and put out of 
commission. 

Arrangements have been made to re-align No. 6 gasholder and 
to repair No. 5 gasholder, in that crder. 

A new high pressure distribution ring main was completed 
during 1959, which will enable gas pressures to be maintained 
during peak loads, in areas which hitherto had been short of gas. 
It will also allow the area of supply to be extended beyond the 
present limits, without incurring heavy expenditure in large 
diameter low pressure trunk mains. 

The past few years have been devoted entirely to the implementa- 
tion of urgent reconstruction programmes, during which safety 
factors have been low and on many occasions the staff have suffered 
much anxiety. However, many of the difficulties have been over- 
come and attention is now being directed towards improving the 
appearance of the Gasworks. Old buildings and production plant 
are being demolished and new roads are being put down. It is no 
longer necessary to reserve space in the Gasworks for the storage 
of large shipments of coal and much of the ground is being 
converted to ‘green belts’. 

The volume of gas manufactured during 1959 was 634 million 
cubic feet, an increase of four million cubic feet over the previous 
year. But the record of gas sales is more imposing, being 544 
million cubic feet in 1959 as opposed to 513 million cubic feet 
during the previous year. 


WORKS AND BUILDING 227 


The department installed an additional 1,874 appliances during 
1959, comprising of 1,341 additional hired appliances, 509 
appliances sold to consumers and 24 privately purchased appli- 
ances sold to consumers. At the end of the year there were 19,894 
appliances on hire to the public. 

Gas mains were extended in many areas to meet the consumers’ 
requirements. This necessitated the laying of 13,996 yards of new 
mains and 1,081 yards of replacement mains, where overloading 
was in evidence. The total length of gas supply mains is 314 miles. 


CITY CLEANSING DEPARTMENT 


The City Area is divided into three divisions which are 
subdivided into 14 cleansing districts for the purpose of cleansing. 
The existing cleanliness of the State of Singapore was maintained 
during the year due to the untiring efforts of the daily rated 
employees and staff of the City Cleansing Department. 

Every public roadway, street and back lane within the City was 
swept daily (except on Sundays and paid Public Holidays) by 
workmen working with brooms and handcarts. The Street and 
drain refuse was transported by these carts to steel covered street 
bins which when full were collected by motor lorries fitted with 
specially designed cranes. The direct collection of 21,803 bins of 
domestic refuse and 21,853 bins of trade refuse was made daily 
(except on Sundays and paid Public Holidays) from verandahs 
by a fleet of 32 modern type collecting motor vehicles and 856 
handcarts. The principal streets were sprinkled daily by three water 
vans and numerous roadside drains were flushed by 36 metered 
handcarts from street hydrants. 

71,730,400 gallons of fresh water were used for flushing of 
roads and drains. 

1,317 summonses were taken against offenders during the year 
for depositing refuse, obstructions and failing to provide approved 
type metal refuse bins, etc. and fines imposed amounted to 
$7,126.50. This attributed to a great extent towards the maintenance 
of the present state of cleanliness in the city. 

Daily collection of nightsoil from 16,941 latrines in 14,411 
premises was undertaken by the department and 5,427,184 pails 
of nightsoil were disposed of at the three disposal stations. 72 old 


228 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


public conveniences and 12 new public latrines installed in 1959 
with shower baths and public standpipes were cleansed daily by 
this department. 

Portable aluminium latrines were hired out for a nominal fee 
of $30 for the first day and $5 for each subsequent day of the 
department for use at wayang and circus performance on vacant 
land. Fees collected were $7,185. 

As from ist January, 1959 the excised Rural Board areas in 
Pasir Panjang and Ulu Pandan were taken over by the City 
Council and the department extended its functions i.e. cleansing, 
collection and disposal of refuse and collection and disposal of 
nightsoil, to cover these two areas. | 

As from ist January, 1959 the excised City Council areas in 
Katong and Serangoon were taken over by the District Councils. 

The Cleansing Section of the three District Offices were 
transferred and came under the control of the Superintendent, 
City Cleansing Department as from 27th July, 1959. 


MARKETS AND HAWKERS 


The licensing and control of markets and hawkers in Singapore 
had been administered by City Council in the City Area and by 
Rural Board in the Rural Area until June 1959 when the function 
was performed solely by City Council on an island wide basis. 

For many years the collection of licence fees was made at two 
Licensing Depots where the collecting hours were from 8 a.m. to 
12 noon and from 2 to 3.30 p.m. during weekdays. With a view 
to offering better services to the public the collecting hours were 
changed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 
12.30 p.m. on Saturdays. 

To implement the new policy of educating the hawkers, vehicles 
equipped with public address system were put on the road. Oral 
messages were given in all locally spoken languages and dialects 
through the loud speakers. This new system, a clear departure 
from the old method of prosecution, had produced good results in 
that we were able to make the hawkers realise that it was our 
intention to help them rather than to cause them unnecessary 
hardship. As a result the amount of fines for the year dropped to 
$13,174.50 as compared to $89,602.80 in 1958. 

A Control Room was also set up at the City Hall where Hawkers 
Inspectors were on duty from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, including 


WORKS AND BUILDING 229 


Sundays and Holidays. Within minutes on receiving a call they 
would be at the spot where the hawker congregation required 
immediate control or investigation. 

Street Committees whose members were hawkers were formed 
at Syed Alwi Road, Queen Street, Beach Lane, Kallang Airport, 
Clive Street, China Street and Lim Tua Tow Road. Frequent 
discussions were held with these Street Committees which were 
found extremely useful. Views and suggestions were freely 
expressed and many such suggestions had been implemented. Each 
Street Committee consists of five to ten members who must be 
hawkers at that particular street. The whole Syed Alwi Road 
which was normally occupied by hawkers from 6 a.m. to noon 
daily was closed to traffic for the same period. 

The revenue and expenditure for the year were $1,456,315.61 
and $1,457,009.36 respectively. 


The number of licensed hawkers is as follows: 
City Area Rural Area Total 








Itinerant hawkers oP 836 298 1,134 

Day Pitch Hawkers ses 2,816 — 4,579 

Night Pitch Hawkers es 1,442 321 

Market stallholders 5 4,150 682 4,832 
9,244 1,301 10,545 











Thirty public markets and 16 private markets were under the 
control of this Department and the total number of hawkers was 
estimated to be 40,000 although only 10,545 of them were licensed. 


FIRE SERVICE 


The Brigade works on a three-shift system. Like most Brigades, 
each shift performs 60 working hours per week. The men are on 
a 3-Rota tour of duties, i.e, day and night duty and during their 
tour of day duty are on first response engines for six hours and 
2nd response for four hours and on night duty are on first response 
engines for four hours and 2nd response for ten hours. 

There are four Fire Stations in this City, one Central Station 
which is the Headquarters was originally built in 1909 and 
extended in 1931; and three other district stations (Geylang, 
Alexandra and Bukit Timah). 


230 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


A fleet of 26 fire engines is now in service. They include seven 
major pumps, six water tenders, six light water tenders, four pump 
escapes, two turntable ladders and one foam tender. 

A pump escape and a major pump manned by a crew of eight 
and six respectively, respond to property outbreaks of fire within 
the City area and an additional turntable ladder to specified areas 
only. Two water tenders with a crew of six each and a light water 
tender respond to property outbreaks of fire in the Rural area. 
The light weight water tender has proved its value in assisting 
fire-fighting operations in congested areas especially kampongs of 
plank and attap dwellings which constitute a grave problem to 
the fire service. 

During the year the Brigade received 1,692 calls—a decrease 
of 43 calls in 1958—but the loss by fire on property was estimated 
at $1,391,343, an increase of $216,254. 

There was only one major outbreak besides many potentially 
Serious incidents. The incident was at Kampong Tiong Bahru 
where 600 to 700 flimsy plank and attap houses were destroyed 
on Friday, 13th February. There were 67 casualties—one fatal; 
57 sustained minor injuries and nine admitted to hospital. 

It will be readily understood that fire protection plays an 
important part in materially reducing the incidence of fire. Ware- 
houses, cinemas, factories and other premises are inspected at the 
request of managements. Regulations regarding the storage of 
hazardous materials are enforced. Road tankers are inspected and 
licensed for the conveyance of petroleum products. The staff 
scrutinise plans of new buildings at the request of the City 
Architect, the Rural Board Surveyor and the Public Works 
Department. Places of entertainment are inspected regularly by 
Officers of the Brigade. During the year under review 26,000 such 
inspections were conducted by this Department. 

The Accident Ambulance service experienced another busy year 
answering to 14,780 calls, an increase of 1,506 calls over the 
figure for the year 1958. A total of 14,264 persons were conveyed 
to hospitals by ambulance. It is interesting to note that there were 
only 2,640 calls in 1949. Two additional Volkswagon Ambulances 
were commissioned during the year making a total of eleven 
ambulances in the service. One ambulance is maintained and 
operated by the Brigade for the Rural Board. Individual 


WORKS AND BUILDING | 231 


ambulances cover 2,000—2,500 miles per month and are 
frequently themselves involved in minor accidents—thus being 
responsible for heavy demands on the workshops. 

The Brigade is a self-contained unit. It: has a workshop which 
comprises a mechanical workshop and stores, a paint shop, a 
carpenter’s shop, a tailor’s shop, a sailmaker’s shop, a bootmaker’s 
shop and a smithy. All major overhauls, repairs and rebuilding 
are conducted at Alexandra Fire Station. | 

Two Major Pumps were redesigned and coachwork constructed 
of aluminium framing with panels of the same material built on 
to Dennis chassis. Modern equipment purchased and _ fitted, 
together with many improvements emanating from Brigade’s own 
field of experience including a very efficient pump priming valve. 
The finished appliances are smart in appearance, functional and 
favoured by the personnel who use them. Also three Austin Gypsy 
Light water tenders which were purchased in the early part of the 
year were modified to suit local conditions. 

Modifications, design and improvements to suit local conditions 
are carried out at Brigade workshops, many improvement 
Originating from Brigade’s own field of experience have been 
adopted by other services. | 

The administration of the Brigade is conducted from Head- 
quarters housed at Central Fire Station and all staff matters, 
training programmes, licensing of dangerous trades, organisation, 
budgetting, ordering of new equipment, progression, etc., is done 
at Senior Staff level. 


DRAINAGE AND FLOOD RELIEF 


During the year there were big changes in the Public Works 
Department and the City Council. One result of these changes 
has been that all Drainage and Flood Relief measures throughout 
the Island are dealt with by one organisation. This is a great 
improvement as it makes possible, proper co-ordination of all 
schemes which the Government, the City Council and the Rural 
Board previously undertook separately. 

The most important work undertaken during 1959 was the new 
canal, which runs from Airport Road crossing Paya Lebar Road 
and Aljunied Road to Sungei Kallang at Lorong 3. Two large 
reinforced concrete structures, tidal gate, and a culvert were built 
by the Public Works Department Drainage Section and floated 


232 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


into position along the canal which had already been completed. 
The tide gate is at Lorong 3 and the culvert is now under Aljunied 
Road. 

In September it was decided to proceed with the remainder of 
the scheme and try to complete it before the heavy rains, expected 
in December and January. Four excavators were put on the work, 
two from the Public Works Department and two from the City 
Council. A great effort was made by all concerned, in City 
Council, Public Works Department and Singapore Improvement 
Trust, who dealt with resettlement of those who had to be moved 
from the site. Good progress was made and approximately 11,000 
feet of canal was completed and ready for use by the middle of 
December. 

Another big scheme which has been in hand this year is the 
Ulu Pandan Canal Scheme. The object of this scheme is to prevent 
flooding in the Alexandra area by taking the flood water from the 
upper end of the catchment away from Alexandra Canal and 
down the new Ulu Pandan Canal. The Canal is to be widened and 
deepened and 3,000 feet of concrete culvert is needed for this 
purpose. A number of heavy excavators have been working on 
the canal and the culvert is under construction. It is hoped to 
complete the first part of this scheme by the end of 1960. 

In the City area the work on Stamford Canal has continued 
throughout the year. The Canal on the North side of Orchard 
Road has been completely rebuilt from Scotts Road to Grange 
Road and this work is continuing with the reconstruction of the 
canal on the South side from Paterson Road to Cuscaden Road. 
This will complete the present scheme which will prevent flooding 
in this area. The other major work being carried out, is in the 
area near Nelson Road. This area has suffered badly from floods 
sO a new drain is being constructed from Radin Mas down to the 
sea with a new outlet through the harbour area. This new drain will 
be completed early in 1960 and will give much needed relief to 
those living in the area. 

In the rural areas no major works have been carried out since 
this section only took over this work in the middle of the year. 
However, a lot of good work was done, under the relief labour 
scheme, on clearing of existing streams and drains to provide 
better drainage than in the past. 










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Picture shows the Aljunied Road R.C. Culvert in final site. 


Bottom—A very modern market at the St. Michael’s estate, which was the area of 
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by the Singapore Improvement Trust. 








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WORKS AND BUILDING 233 


SEWERAGE SYSTEM 


The installation of a modern sewerage system for the City Area 
began in 1912 and by the end of 1959 there were 271.5 miles of 
sewers serving a population of about 677,600. The sewered area 
is generally very flat and at a low elevation above sea level. This 
necessitates a comprehensive series of pumping stations and at the 
end of 1959 thirteen such stations were in operation. Plans to 
extend the sewerage system to cover the entire City area and some 
regions beyond the City limits are being drawn up. 

Sewage is treated in two main Disposal Works, one situated in 
Alexandra Road serving the western and southern parts of the 
City, the other in Kim Chuan Road serving the eastern districts. 
Sludge from these works, together with nightsoil, is pumped away 
for final treatment at the Sludge Disposal works near the mouth 
of the Serangoon River. Some of the dried sludge is sold to 
farmers, the balance being used to reclaim swampy ground in the 
vicinity of the works. 

Over the last few years the sewage flow has increased contin- 
uously until in 1959 the average daily flow was 26,157,000 
gallons. Both Disposal Works are seriously overloaded. The 
extension of the treatment works at Kim Chuan Road has recently 
been completed thus doubling its capacity, but due to the limited 
space available it has been decided to abandon the Alexandra 
Road Works. A new site has been found in Ulu Pandan to the 
west of the City and contracts for the construction of a new 
treatment works have been let. Work on this $50 million scheme 
is well advanced and the new works will be put into operatioa 
in 1961. 

The total length of main and minor sewers constructed during 
1959 was 9.1 miles. 3,606 premises were given connections to the 
sewerage system bringing the total number of premises served to 
38,824. 

Areas not served by the sewer system fall into two categories: 


(1) Some of the outlying residential areas to which public 
sewers have not yet been extended—here the provision 
of private septic tanks is generally permitted. 503 such 
tanks were in operation during the year and were 
maintained by the City Council at the expense of the 
owners. 


234 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


(2) The central and more congested parts of the City Area 
which were developed before the advent of a sewerage 
system. Here, sewage disposal is by nightsoil buckets 
collected by the City Council Cleansing Department 
and conveyed in a modern fleet of lorries to dumping 
stations where it is pumped away for disposal together 
with the sewage sludge. However it has been felt that, 
even before redevelopment takes place, a waterborne 
system should be provided for these areas and con- 
sequently the laying of temporary branch sewers 
through the houses and under walls and back courts 
has been commenced. By the end of 1959 the provi- 
sion of such sewers within one mile radius of the City 
Centre had been substantially completed and work to 
include properties between 1 and 14 miles of the 
centre was well advanced. 


A further category of unsewered areas which may be mentioned 
is the pockets of ‘plank and attap’ development within the City. 


CITY ARCHITECT 


The scope of the work carried out by the City Architect and 
Bu:lding Surveyor’s Department of the City Council in the first 
six months of 1959 remained the same as in previous years. In 
June 1959, however, the Building Surveyor’s Section was detached 
from the City Architect and placed, together with the Building 
Surveyor’s Section of the Rural Board, under the overall direction 
and control of the Ministry of National Development, while the 
Parks and Recreation Section and Maintenance Unit came under 
the control of the Administrator, City Council. 

Sixty projects to the total value of $2,040,925 were completed 
during the year. Of the projects completed, the notable ones were 
the construction and completion of six 3-storey blocks of subord- 
inate quarteis at Somerset Road, the swimming pool and ancillary 
buildings at King George V Park which was opened during the 
second half of the year for public use. Six Public Outdoor 
Dispensaries were completed, and blocks of cooked-food stalls 
were erected in three markets, and improvements made to four 
other markets. One children’s playground was constructed at the 
open space bounded by China/Pekin/Church and Telok Ayer 
Streets. 


WORKS AND BUILDING 235 


PUBLIC WORKS AND ROADS 


Owing to the need for economy and the freezing of certain 
development works during the latter half of 1959, expenditure 
was considerably reduced as compared with the previous year. 
Expenditure for the year amounted to almost $12.5 million; of 
which $1.25 million was spent on Education projects and a little 
over $2 million on Medical and Health projects. 

During the year two Primary Schools and one Secondary School 
were completed. A considerable amount of research was done 
preparatory to the design of new Primary Schools building types 
in order to achieve some economy in space and to provide quieter 
teaching conditions. Work is in progress for the building of St. 
Wilfred Road, Norfolk Road and Ayer Rajah Road Schools. 

For the Medical Services, the following were completed: 

(a) Hospital for the Chronic Sick, Thomson Road; 

(b) Alterations to Burns Unit, General Hospital; 

(c) Block ‘E’ (Gynecological Wing) Kandang Kerbau Hospital; 
(d) Installation of Refuse Incinerator, Kandang Kerbau Hospital; 
(e) Erection of a 250 K.V. Room, General Hospital; and 

(f) 120,000-gallon R.C. Water Tower at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. 


The following construction works were also completed during 
the year: _o | 
(a) Muslim Welfare Home at Jalan Eunos; 
(b) Post Office, Serangoon Garden Estate; 
(c) Post Office, Paya Lebar; | 
(dq) Micro-Wave Trunk Telephone System, Powerhouse and Terminal 


Building, at Fort Canning; 
(e) Quarters for 60 Housemen; 
(f) New Master Attendant’s Pier; . 
(g) 4 Blocks of 7-Storey Police Quarters, Duxton Plain. 


A Labour Force of approximately 500 Unemployment Relief 
Workers were engaged by the P.W.D. for earthworks on proposed 
extension areas in the Airport. 


Roads | 

Approximately 36 miles of new Agricultural Roads were 
completed during the year. This included 29 Culverts, six Wooden 
Bridges, and six Standard Rural-type Bridges. The main road to 
Kampong Pasir Malay School at Pulau Tekong was also completed 
in 1959. . 


236 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The following Link Roads are now in progress: 


(a) Jurong Road/Chua Chu Kang Road and 
(b) West Coast Road/Jurong Road. 


Drainage and Flood Alleviation 
Under the Geylang Flood Alleviation Scheme the following were 
completed: 
(a) Venturi Culvert at Aljunied Road; 
(b) Tidal Control Gate at Kallang Swamp; 


(c) A Drainage Channel from Kallang Swamp to Lorong Tai Seng 
together with 7 Concrete Pipe Culverts; 


(d) Earth Bund running from Lorong 3 to Aljunied Road. 

One of the three Subsidiary Channels had a new sea-wall at 
the mouth of the Bedok River completed in connection with the 
Bedok Flood Alleviation Scheme. 

The following projects are in progress: 

(a) Jetty at Pulau Sudong; 
(b) Jetty at Lazarous Island; 


(c) Reinforced Concrete Triplet Culvert and a Pilot Channel for the 
Ulu Pandan Drainage Scheme. 


PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDING 


Public Authorities Housing 


The City Council and the Singapore Harbour Board provide 
housing for many of their employees and the Public Works 
Department for officers of the Government. 


Public Owned Houses 
Constructed in 1959 


: Total 

Peal aiion UM t, 
Singapore Improvement Trust ... 1,611 4.4 22,975 
Public Works Department sede 494 3.94 9,660 
City Council a a 108 .70 4,788 


Singapore Harbour Board bag — — 5,681 


WORKS AND BUILDING 237 


Private Building 


The Building Section of the Rural Board has been sited together 
with the Chief Building Surveyor’s Department of the City Council 
and the submission of building plans has now been centralized as 
the two sections are now housed in the same building at Upper 
Pickering Street under the overall direction of the Chief Building 
Surveyor. Completed buildings in the City area in 1959 show a 
figure of 822 as against 765 in 1958. In the rural area, 1,161 
buildings were completed in 1959 as against 958 in 1958. 
Comparative figures, together with graphs showing building 
progress, are appended hereunder. 


CITY COUNCIL SECTION 
Comparative figures and statistics for the years 1958 and 1959: 


Subject 1958 1959 
Plans submitted 1,737 1,563 
Plans approved ... 1,081 1,018 
Plans Disapproved se One 67 84 
Plans Cancelled a ae 31 29 
Plans of R.C. Details as Sigs 529 406 
Plans finalised ... as ate 1,708 1,537 
Plans under consideration bas sak 306 332 
Buildings under construction... — 2,384 1,497 
Buildings commenced vay ai 1,463 756 
Buildings completed . = 765 822 
Certificates of pace ie: Occupation aued 311 352 
Certificates of Fitness oF anntary. Installation 
issued ... 1,151 866 
Permits issued sak soot i: 2,251 2,686 
Advertisement Licence issued... ue 8,935 9,342 
Garage Licence issued wis gah 262 . 254 
Notices issued : or —— 1,759 1,702 
Inspections of Buildings bis vs «2i,l23 28,800 
Houses demolished on C.C. land as requested 
by City Assessor 16 — 


Houses demolished under Section 169 of the 
L.G.O. 1957 we — 6 


Houses demolished under Schtion 249 and 256 
of the L.G.O. 1957 — — 


Unauthorised erections deniolished ander 
Section 166 of the M.O. whe or — 8 


Health Officer’s Reports dealt with ses 169 116 
Summons Cases decided 


238 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


An analysis of works completed shows a total of 822 completed 
buildings in the tabulated groups below: 


A—Residential or Partly Residential Bungalows 
or detached houses ba say 
Semi-detached houses 
Terrace houses 
Terrace Flats 
Shophouses 
Shops and Flats 
Flats se ace ibe 
Telephone Exchange and flats ... 
Staff Quarters base = 
Consulate Building and Quarters 
Institution house... oe 
Hotel 
Garages 
622 
B—Business Premises 
Offices 
Offices and shops 
Offices and stores 
Store : 
Lock-up Shops 
Cinemas 
Garage ... bie se 
Petrol Service and Filling Stations 


N = 
| | NO N COON A 
N= Ww Ww = hb ~) ~) N= = NA NW OOS ~) me wD 


26 

C—Industrial 
Workshop 
Godown 
Factories 
Printing Press 


N 
fey beet pet 


28 
D—Educational, Religious and Social 

Residential College 

Students’ Hostel 

Schools sass 

Extension to schools 

Lecture Hall - 

Canteen 

Churches 

Temples 

Hospital Ward 

Clubhouses 


E—Other Buildings 
F—Additions and Alterations 


co" 
o" 
nm 
== 
A. 


Total 


| 
io] 
nN 
No 


622 Dwellings comprising 992 units. 


WORKS AND BUILDING 239 


RURAL BOARD SECTION 


STATISTICS FOR THE YEAR, 1959 


Plans Submitted a sets or 731 
Plans Approved bas os: ws 561 
Plans Disapproved ne _ a Nil 
Plans withdrawn Oe a he 28 
Plans under consideration ade iM 142 
Buildings completed ve ve ie 1,161 
Certificate of Fitness for Occupation issued ... 124 
Permits issued Se me Bie 2,318 
Notices issued se Lee oe 539 
Summons Cases decided - Se 320 


GRAPH SHOWING COMPLETED BUILDINGS 
CITY COUNCIL 


COMPLETED BUILDINGS 
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING S 





240 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


GRAPH SHOWING COMPLETED BUILDINGS 
RURAL BOARD 


ee eee ee es Hee a etl cd 

CONT 

TOON 

COST 

CCCP 

SURSRAUEROGGL 
chee eee 


1300 
1200 
1100 
1000 
900 
800 
700 
«Oo 
50O 
400 
300 
200 
100 
NUMBER 
YE 


5 





PLANNING AND HOUSING 


Not long after the foundation of the Settlement of Singapore 
in 1819, the need for planned development became apparent. 
Early plans for the Settlement predicted the close pattern of streets 
in the present city centre, the reservation of sites for Government 
use, and the division of the Settlement according to the racial 
organs of the population. 

As a result of the rapid population growth, both by immigration 
and natural increase, there had been created by the 1920s a large 
and complex urban area about the port, with village settlements 
at strategic points on the coastline and at road junctions in the 
hinterland. In order to control and plan further development, the 


WORKS AND BUILDING 41 


Government enacted in 1927 the Singapore Improvement Ordin- 
ance, whereby was constituted the Singapore Improvement Trust, 
which began its life as an authority with the functions of preparing 
improvement schemes and controlling the disposal and devel- 
opment of land on the Island. The improvement schemes 
undertaken by the Trust involved the construction and reconstruc- 
tion of dwellings and other buildings, and in course of time the 
Trust took on the functions of a public housing authority as well. 

Although certain byelaws relating to the development of 
land are operated by local authorities, control of development of 
Singapore Island is the responsibility of the Singapore Improve- 
ment Trust. In discharging its functions, the Trust works closely 
with central and local government departments and is represented 
on various committees concerned with planning and takes an 
active part in all research projects bearing on the use of land 
and building. 

Until 1952, statutory control of land and building use was 
exercised by the Trust through the medium of the General 
Improvement Plan, an accurately-drawn cadastral, and to some 
extent topographical, record of planning decisions. The Plan 
comprises some 1,500 sheets at scales of 1, 4 and 8 chains to an 
inch; the detailed one chain general coverage is being gradually 
extended from the urban area over the whole Island. The Plan 
is on sale to the public and constitutes a valuable aid to intending 
developers. 

During 1959, 1,693 applications for permission to sub-divide 
and develop land or change the use of land or buildings on the 
Island were considered by the Trust; 721 were approved and 253 
disapproved; 156 were still under consideration at the end of the 
year. Each application is the subject of consultation with all 
interested central and local government departments and of 
consideration by the Planning Committee and the Board of 
Trustees. As a repository of a large store of accurate information, 
the Trust is required daily to answer many requests regarding the 
disposal and use of particular parcels of land. For the year 1959, 
1,815 answers to legal enquiries were given. 

Whilst the General Improvement Plan is an invaluable record 
of the existing and approved use of particular areas of land and 
an excellent means of exercising development control, the need to 
relate development control work to an overall land use plan was 
soon felt. The result was the appointment in 1952 of a Master 


242 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Plan Team entrusted with the duties of preparing a Master Plan 
for the whole Island of Singapore. A draft Master Plan was 
submitted in late 1955 to Government followed by a public 
exhibition and inquiry in early 1956. Objections to and representa- 
tions on the Plan were received by Government which examined 
the Plan closely during the remainder of 1956 and 1957. On 8th 
August, 1958, Government gave final approval to the Master 
Plan for Singapore. The approved Master Plan comprised a series 
of maps covering the various parts of the Island indicating 
proposed uses and included a statutory document called the 
Written Statement. 

The basic principle of the Master Plan is the containment of the 
City within the green belt (to be used for playing fields, public 
parks, agriculture and other open uses), further development to 
take place by the construction of new suburbs to complete the 
urban area within the green belt, by the redevelopment of dilap- 
idated central areas, and by the expansion of established rural 
villages and the creation of three large new towns at Woodlands, 
Bulim and Yio Chu Kang in the north, west and centre of the 
Island respectively. It is the intention that each of these new towns 
should have a corporate life of its own separate from that of the 
City. A further basic principle of the Plan is the allocation to each 
centre of population, whether it be a village, a suburb, a town or 
a district of the city, of community centres, open spaces, post 
Offices, clinics and other community buildings, to provide for the 
needs of the people near their homes. 

As the approved Master Plan covers the whole Island of 
Singapore, detailed plans are required in respect of the relatively 
undeveloped areas designated as Rural Centres and New Towns. 
Such detailed plans would be submitted for Government’s approval 
as additions to the Master Plan. The Master Plan is also required 
to be reviewed quinquennially. The work of carrying out surveys 
and research of all factors affecting land use and of its analysis 
so that necessary or desirable additions or alterations to the 
approved Master Plan can be done at the appropriate time, is the 
responsibility of the Trust Planning Department. 

Draft zoning plans for the Woodlands and Yio Chu Kang New 
Towns and the Changi/Bedok addition town map area are in an 
advanced stage of preparation and these draft plans when 
completed will be submitted for the consideration of Government 
as additions to the Master Plan. 


WORKS AND BUILDING 243 


No new major surveys were carried out during the year; work 
on survey and research was confined in the main to the analysis 
of the results of the 1958 Rural Land Use Survey carried out 
jointly by the Planning Department and the Department of 
Geography, University of Malaya including the mapping of the 
land-use information on 4-chain scale maps, and to the analysis 
of the results of the 1957 Census of Population. The rural land 
use maps at 4 chains to an inch provide valuable information for 
the preparation of the detailed plans for villages and other rural 
settlements, and are of assistance to Development Control work 
in the consideration of development applications in the rural area. 
The 1957 Census of Population had indicated a need to consider 
a revision of the residential densities prescribed in the approved 
Master Plan. Careful thought has been given to this matter and 
proposals for an interim revision of the Master Plan densities 
pending the full review of the Master Plan were under close study 
during the year. 

The Trust Planning Department is also responsible for the 
preparation of detailed plans in interpretation of the Master Plan’s 
broad proposals including proposals for Central Area redevel- 
opment and traffic improvements. Planning work on Central Area 
redevelopment was confined to the preparation of schemes for 
parts of Central Area precincts in order that private development 
applications may be dealt with. Fourteen detailed proposals for 
the improvement of major traffic routes and junctions zoned in 
the Master Plan were prepared and adopted for control purposes. 

The Trust continued throughout the year to be the recognised 
public housing authority within the island. The Singapore 
Improvement Ordinance under which the Trust was constituted 
in 1927 provides for an eleven-member Board of Trustees, including 
a Chairman and three unofficials appointed by His Excellency the 
Yang di-Pertuan Negara; two unofficial representatives from the 
City Council, one unofficial representative from the Rural Board, 
and four officials namely the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of 
Local Government, Lands and Housing, the Chairman, Rural 
Board, the Director, Public Works and-the City Health Officer. 

The Trust’s main source of revenue apart from the rents of its 
estate are a two per cent Improvement Rate levied on properties 
throughout the island and an equivalent contribution from the 
Government. Trust development since 1948 has been dependent 


244 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


on Government loan funds and by the end of 1959 the total 
expenditure financed from loan funds amounted to $126 million 
approximately. 

During the year 1959 with the impending change of Government 
the Trust completed 1,258 flats and maisonnettes, 259 terrace 
houses and 94 shops, bringing the total number of units and shops 
constructed up to the end of 1959 to 23,019 and 12 markets. 
The area of largest development was at St. Michael’s Road where 
1,143 units were completed. In addition 258 units were completed 
at Duchess Estate and 280 units at Kallang—a total of 1,611 
units for the year. 

As the official Government agency for public housing within the 
island, the Trust is responsible for all phases of its building work— 
the initial planning of schemes, earthworks and site preparations, 
piling and site testing, preparation of architectural and structural 
designs, tendering and letting contracts, detailed site supervision 
of contract works, liaison with the City, Rural and Government 
Departments on the provision of utility services and community 
services, and the maintenance of all properties after completion. 
The Trust maintains its own fleet of earthmoving equipment, its 
own trees and nursery to supply a variety of shrubs and trees to 
its completed estates, and a labour force to maintain the clean- 
liness of the estates. 

The rapid natural increase in Singapore’s population, estimated 
at approximately 55,000 per annum is making the housing 
problem more and more critical. A survey carried out after the 
inception of the present Government indicated that it will be 
necessary to construct 17,400 units a year for the next ten years 
in order to catch up with the back log of housing required for 
the rapidly increasing population and to clear the large number 
of people living in slums and obsolete properties within the central 
areas of the island. 

Towards the end of the year arrangements were well in hand 
to implement Government’s declared intention of abolishing the 
Singapore Improvement Trust and replacing it with a Housing 
and Development Board to concentrate on the erection of public 
housing on the one hand, and with the Planning Authority to pro- 
vide for the planning and improvement of Singapore on the other. It 
is expected that, with the establishment of the Housing and 
Development Board early in 1960, construction of public housing 
will be appreciably increased. 





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X/ COMMUNICATIONS 
SERVICES 


INGAPORE, situated as she is at the southern tip of the Asian 

mainland, with all the major sea and air routes converging on 
and radiating outwards in all directions from her, must and con- 
tinues to offer an up-to-date communications service, not only to 
protect her entrepdt trade on which largely depends her economy 
at present, but also to maintain her position as a world centre and 
a tourist resort in the East. 

As a natural deep-water harbour with first-class berthing and 
bunkering facilities available, Singapore is a regular port of call 
for ocean-going vessels between the East and West, and a con- 
venient shipping outlet for Malaya and the neighbouring islands 
around the south. 

Singapore can also justly be proud of her International Airport 
with a runway capable of handling any aircraft now flying in the 
world, and with all modern aeronautical facilities available to pro- 
tect air navigation in this part of the globe, which of course in- 
cludes up-to-date telecommunication and meteorological services. 

The number of people employed in Singapore in these communi- 
cations services is estimated at over 39,000, which is higher than 
in any other single industry within the State. Of this number, 
10,600 are engaged in the shipping industry, 11,200 on road trans- 
port, over 1,200 on air transport and 13,600 in the manufacture of 
transport equipment, the rest being engaged in the telegraph, tele- 
phone and postal services. 

When the newly elected Government of the people took office 
in June 1959 it was realised that a more rational distribution of 
departments under the various Ministers was necessary for efficient 
administration. Accordingly, as from October 1959, the Deputy 
Prime Minister was given charge of all the communications 
services in Singapore—i.e. Shipping and Aviation, Post, Cables and 
Telegrams, Roads and Rail Transport, and Telephones. The Singa- 
pore Harbour Board, which is also dealt with in this Chapter, was 
however placed under the charge of the Prime Minister himself. 


246 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


SHIPPING 


The settlement of Singapore was founded by merchants in 1819 
as a trading and shipping centre to handle the expanding trade be- 
tween Europe and the Far East. In the early days the Singapore 
River was the centre of commerce and sailing ships entered the 
river to discharge and load their cargoes direct into warehouses 
built on the river bank. In the mid-nineteenth century some wharves 
were built at Tanjong Pagar but they did not prove popular and 
were little used. 

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the evolution of 
the steamship about the same period resulted in a great increase 
in trade to the Far East in general and the number and size of 
ships calling at Singapore increased steadily. Because the number 
of berths in the Singapore River was no longer sufficient and the 
larger ships were unable to enter the river, interest was revived 
in the use of Tanjong Pagar as a berthing area. The Tanjong Pagar 
Dock Company which had been formed in 1864 undertook the con- 
struction of wharves and warehouses where all sizes of ships could 
safely berth and a dry-dock and machinery shops were built so 
that ships using the port could be repaired. These facilities were 
extended as trade increased until today there are over 24 miles of 
berthing space which can accommodate 21 ocean going ships and 
six coastal vessels. There are now six dry docks in which all sizes 
and types of ships using Singapore can be docked for repairs and 
surveys. Control of the docks and wharves was taken over by 
the Singapore Harbour Board in 1913. 

The old harbour in the Singapore River has today become a 
most important centre for the loading and discharge of lighters 
which are used to carry cargo to and from the many coasting and 
deep-sea ships which anchor in the Inner and Outer Roads. Of 
similar importance to lighters is Telok Ayer Basin which was 
opened at the turn of the century and provides berths for numerous 
lighters as well as being used as a base by the Customs and 
Fisheries Departments and the M.R.N.V.R. 

Besides the Singapore Harbour Board wharves and docks, the 
Singapore River and Telok Ayer Basin the Port of Singapore to- 
day includes the installations of the Oil Companies on Pulau Bukom 
(Shell Oil Co.), Pulau Sebarok (Standard Vacuum Oil Co.), and at 
Tanjong Penjuru (Caltex Oil Co.), the Western Anchorage, Eastern 
Roads and the Rochor, Kallang and smaller rivers as far as they 


are navigable. 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 247 


Passenger traffic can be handled at most of the §.H.B. wharves 
and the completion in 1957 of a modern passenger terminal at 
Tanjong Pagar gave Singapore the most up-to-date and rapid facili- 
ties for dealing with large numbers of passengers and visitors. 

Work is now in progress on the construction of two new deep- 
water berths at Tanjong Pagar for the S.H.B. and the scheme plans 
for the ultimate construction of five more deep-water berths in the 
same area. 

Control of shipping throughout the Port is exercised by the 
Master Attendant in his capacity as Port Officer under the pro- 
visions of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance. He is responsible for 
general Port conservancy, for the navigational aids in the Port and 
its approaches, for the various anchorages within the Port and 
the signal stations. The Master Attendant is head of the Marine 
Department of the Government of Singapore, responsible for the 
receipt of ships’ arrival reports and the issue of port clearances, 
the Registry of Shipping, the engagement and discharge of seamen, 
and the examination of Masters and Mates. He is also President of 
the Pilot Board, Chairman of the Light Dues Board, Receiver of 
Wreck and Chairman of various other boards concerned with sea- 
men. 

SHIPS 


British ships may be registered at the Port of Singapore. Locally 
based sailing vessels which carry cargoes to Indonesia or the 
Federation of Malaya are licensed for this trade under the Mer- 
chant Shipping Ordinance. The Department of Marine also issues 
licences to boats plying for trade or business within the waters of 
the State. 


SHIPS REGISTERED AND LICENSED AT SINGAPORE AS ON 31ST DECEMBER, 1959 


No. of Net 
British Ships ships Tonnage 
Permanent Registry (under Part I of the 
Merchant Shipping Act, een 
Steam ... 14 13,807 
Motor ... 134 44,028 
Sailing . 87 14,243 
Terminable Registry (under. section 90 of 
the Act)— 
Steam 2 39 
Motor ... 80 1,048 
Sailing .. 14 629 
Licensed Vessels ne Re renin 
Sailing ships 268 20,516 
Cargo Boats 2,254 61,644 
Passenger Boats 110 411 


248 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES OF MERCHANT SHIPS IN 1959 








Aggregate Net 
Registered 
Entered Cleared Tonnage of 
vessels entered 
and cleared 
Ships on Foreign Going Articles 
over 75 net registered tons ... 8,391 8,378 63,912,519 
Ships on Home Trade Articles 
over 75 net registered tons ... 1,086 1,077 1,365,327 
Ships on Local Trade Articles 
over 75 net registered tons ... 1,247 1,257 573,394 
Ships under 75 net registered 
tons and Native Craft of all 
tonnages me ... 7,937 8,172 801,660 
Total ... 18,661 18,884 66,652,900 








All merchant ships must report their arrival to the Port Officer 
and before leaving they must obtain a port clearance. 

H.M. Yacht Britannia with H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh on 
board visited Singapore from 22nd—2Sth February, 1959. Thirty- 
eight visits to the port by Royal Navy and Commonwealth war- 
ships and fleet auxiliaries took place during 1959. Ten warships 
and fleet auxiliaries of other nations also visited Singapore during 


1959. 


Shipping Services 

Frequent passenger and cargo services are maintained by many 
shipping lines to all parts of the world. Most of the important 
shipping companies maintain agencies in Singapore, and the Far 
East Freight Conference has a Secretariat. Two ships made a total 
of four voyages to Jeddah with pilgrims from Singapore and the 
Federation of Malaya. 

The Straits Steamship Company is the largest local shipping 
company. With its associates it owns 57 vessels. Regular passenger 
and freight services are operated by this and other shipping com- 
panies to Burma, Indonesia, Thailand, Sarawak, North Borneo and 
the Federation of Malaya. The Malayan Stevedoring and Trans- 
portation Company operates a fleet of tugs and sea going lighters. 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 249 


CREWS 


The local laws relating to seamen are basically the same as in 
other parts of the British Commonwealth but there are many modi- 
fications to suit the very mixed seafaring population of the State. 
It is now estimated that there are approximately 7,000 Singapore 
seamen employed at any one time. Crews are signed on and off 
Articles of ships in the Shipping Office of the Marine Division. 
The Shipping Office is responsible for ensuring that ships are 
manned in accordance with the Merchant Shipping Ordinance and 
various other matters are dealt with incidental to the clearance of 
ships from port and the transit of seafarers. 

During the year 16 Singapore seamen were returned to Singa- 
pore and 34 distressed British seamen were received and repatriated 
to various Commonweaith ports or found employment. 


SHIPPING OFFICE 
1956 1957 1958 1959 


Articles opened es 509 $26 560 477 
Seamen signed on— 
European bas 1,522 1,399 1,426 1,479 
Asian ... .. 12,671 14,520 15,391 12,355 
Seamen signed off— 
European a 1,473 1,390 1,480 1,529 
Asian ... ... 12,770 14,631 15,538 12,770 


SHIPPING CASUALTIES 


A total of 103 shipping casualties were reported during the year. 
_ A preliminary enquiry was held on 21st August, 1959 into the loss 
of the m.v. Aik Hin, Official No. 196212, Port of Registry—Singa- 
pore. 


EXAMINATION OF DECK AND ENGINEER 
OFFICERS 


The certificates issued by the Minister for Commerce and Indus- 
try during the first half of 1959 and the Minister for Finance and the 


Deputy Prime Minister thereafter have international recognition. 
Arrangements exist with the Ministry of Transport in the United 
Kingdom for ensuring strict uniformity between State certificates of 


250 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Imperial Validity and those issued elsewhere in the Common- 
wealth. Examinations are conducted by the Marine Department for 
deck grades and by the Marine Surveys Department for engine- 
room grades. 

Examinations conducted Certificates issued 


Internationally Valid 1956 1957 1958 1959 1956 1957 1958 1959 


certificates 


Foreign-going atid 
and Mates 11 6*= — 13 4 1* — 7 


Engineers ... 30 36 36 25 


Gad 
| 
| 


Local Certificates 
Deck Grades ... 208 89* — 744 61 45* — 499 
Engine room Grades ... 217 327 308 301 144 +110 154 142 


* Examinations temporarily suspended from May 1957, due to shortage 
of staff in the Marine Department. 


SIGNAL STATIONS 


The three signal stations situated at Mt. Faber, Fullerton Build- 
ing and Tanjong Berlayer functioned efficiently throughout the year. 
The new Fullerton signal station commenced operations in May 
1959 and has proved itself very useful in keeping contact with ships 
in the Eastern anchorages. 

The number of visual messages handled by the three signal 
stations were 2,847 for the year. Arrival and departure reports 
numbering 21,819 were passed to ship-owners, agents and various 
port authorities. 

The number of subscribers to the Government Signal Service 
now stands at 68. 


NAVIGATIONAL AIDS 


The Marine Department is responsible for four lighthouses with- 
in the Port limits, Horsburgh Lighthouse, 33 miles to the east of 
Singapore and Pulau Pisang Lighthouse, 43 miles to the west, as 
well as 20 light beacons and 31 unlit beacons, 10 light buoys and 
15 unlit buoys. 

The following alterations to beacons, buoys and lights were com- 
pleted during the year: 

A light buoy was established to replace No. 9a Beacon off Pulau 
Bukom after the beacon had been damaged beyond repair by col- 
lision. 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 251 


Lights were established on Empire Buoy and Tembaga Buoy in 
Keppel Harbour. 

The light on No. 36 beacon was moved to No. 35 beacon, and 
the topmark from No. 35 beacon was moved to No. 36. 

The light on Outer Shoal Beacon was altered from white to red. 

No. 34 beacon was moved to a new position marking the seaward 
end of the new line of Wrecks at Tanjong Pagar. 

The light on one buoy was changed from gas to electric opera- 
tion. 

Radar reflectors were established on three lighthouses, two bea- 
cons and two buoys. 

Lighthouse and beacon structures are maintained by the Public 
Works Department. 


Hydrographic Surveys 

During the year theodolite observations were taken to establish 
the secondary triangulation stations of the port. 

In April a survey covering an area of 390,000 square yards was 
carried out to determine the depths of water in the vicinity of the 
wreck Heogh Transporter after this wreck’s removal. 

During June a close survey to determine the depths of water 
near the turning buoy off Tanjong Penuru was carried out for 
Caltex (Asia) Ltd., covering an area of about 42,500 square yards. 

In July and August a survey was carried out off the berths at 
Pulau Sebarok at the request of Standard-Vacuum Oil Company. 
Soundings were taken over an area of about 90,000 square yards. 

In August soundings were taken in Berlayer Creek. 

On the 26th October observations of the sun were taken to con- 
firm the orientation of the co-ordinate grid meridian. 


FIRES 


On the 17th January an explosion occurred in a lighter loading 
butane gas cylinders in the Western Explosives anchorage. The 
lighter subsequently sank without loss of life. 

Three minor fires occurred in ships during the year as follows: 

22nd May—Idomenus (British) 
21st August—Schelde Lloyd (Dutch) 
24th December—Khy ber (British) 


All were extinguished quickly with the assistance of the Singa- 
pore Harbour Board fire brigade. An accident during the fighting 
of the fire in the Schelde Lloyd unfortunately resulted in the death 
of one of the Singapore Harbour Board firemen. _ 


252 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


SEAMEN’S WELFARE 


Visiting and local seafarers continued to receive the assistance of 
officers of the Department in meeting and solving the varied prob- 
lems which arise from their career. In one instance the Hong Kong 
and Indonesian crew members of a foreign-registered ship who 
were stranded in Singapore were successfully assisted in taking 
legal action in Singapore for recovery of their balance of wages 
and repatriation to their home ports. 

The Seafarer’s Welfare Board, under the chairmanship of the 
Director of Social Welfare, continued its work of co-ordinating 
welfare facilities for seafarers in the State and administration of 
the Singapore Mercantile Marine Fund. During the year the Board 
made the following grants from the Fund: 

$ C. 
(a) Relief granted to aged seafarers and their dependants 224,322 31 
(b) Grants to charitable organisations— 


Missions to Seamen a 25 27,000 00 
Norwegian Seamen’s Mission 10,000 00 
Singapore Seafarer’s Entertainment Committee . 4,500 00 
Apostleship of the sea ... in 4,000 00 
Dutch Seamen’s Mission ae ~ 875 00 
(c) Grant to S.A.T.A. ae me Mes 25,715 00 


Voluntary bodies engaged in seamen’s welfare work continued 
their valuable work throughout the year. 


SAFETY 
Ship Survey 

The safety and loadline requirements in the State are based on 
International Conventions of 1929, 1930 and 1948. 

These have their local expression in an exceedingly complex 
set of rules. All Safety Convention passenger ships, and cargo ves- 
sels of over 500 tons gross on International Voyages in State waters 
are thus surveyed and certificated to the same standards as in the 
world’s leading maritime States and smaller vessels outside the 
scope of the above conventions are similarly treated as far as 
is practicable. 

Apart from the international requirements for larger ships there 
are two international agreements of more local validity: the Simla 
Rules of 1931 which apply to ships carrying unberthed passengers 
between Singapore, Ceylon, Hong Kong, India and Indonesia, and 
agreements with Thailand, Indonesia, and Indo-China made in 
1935 at the instance of the Straits Settlements Government applying 
to loadline ships trading between these countries. 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 253 


Statutory surveys in the State are undertaken by the Marine 
Surveys Department and vary in extent from an exhaustive and 
specialised inspection of the entire structure, machinery and equip- 
ment in drydock and afloat, to the examination of some minor 
component. From a small beginning in 1861 when a surveyor was 
appointed primarily for the tonnage measurement of ships the 
present department has grown in response to increasingly rigorous 
international safety requirements. 

There are now seven surveyors and one Superintendent of Gov- 
ernment Vessels and Launches on the establishment working under 
the direction of the Surveyor-General of Ships. 

In addition to survey work in the port the Department is also 
responsible for conducting examinations for ships’ engineers and 
engine drivers for certificates of competency, for the technical main- 
tenance of all Government-owned vessels, professional advice to 
Government departments and for supervising the construction and 
repair in Singapore of all vessels owned by the Governments of the 
State, the Federation of Malaya and other Governments and bodies 
who require the services of the Department. 


SHIP SURVEYS AND INSPECTIONS, 1959 


Passenger and Safety Certificates is tbe 53 
Safety Equipment Certificates... basi ne 125 
Loadline Certificates ... oh Sit se 44 
Bottom Certificates ... ths cae 16 
Certificates of Survey for Tonnage te nee 41 
Life Saving Appliances, Lifeboats, Buoyant Apparatus 43 
Lights and sound signals sla 194 
Radiotelegraphy and Radiotelephony Certificates es 309 
Petroleum Certificates ee sale ae 105 
Miscellaneous Safety Surveys _... 200 
Minor Surveys and Inspections (Government Vessels) . 900 
Certificates of Inspection (Partial Surveys) . fei 23 
Shipping Casualties ... “ ao 76 
Lifejackets manufactured and tested ene 5384 8,100 
Pilgrim Ship Certificates ere ost ce 4 


THE SINGAPORE HARBOUR BOARD 


The provision of harbour facilities in Singapore was commenced 
in the middle of the nineteenth century by a number of companies 
which later amalgamated into a single enterprise in 1899. The ser- 
vices provided by the company proved grossly insufficient to meet 
the increasing shipping requirements and the Government took over 
the business of the company in 1905. 


254 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Later, on the Ist July, 1913, the Singapore Harbour Board was 
constituted as a statutory body under the Ports Ordinance to 
manage the affairs of the Port on commercial principles, and this 
principle has been followed by the Board ever since. The Board 
consists of a Chairman (who is also the General Manager) and 
ten other members representing shipping and commercial interests 
who use the facilities which the Board provides. 

In this historical year when Singapore attained self-government 
the Singapore Harbour Board can proudly look back upon 45 years 
of service to Singapore and the shipping which uses this great 
international port and can fairly say that the Board’s present in- 
stallations are amongst the most up-to-date and best equipped in 
the world. 


TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT 


Cargo (including coal, fuel and vegetable oils) handled over the 
wharves during the year ended 31st December, 1959 amounted to 
5,468,516 tons, representing a decrease of 81,087 tons or 1.5 per 
cent compared with the previous year. Excluding coal, fuel and 
vegetable oils, however, the tonnage of cargo handled at 3,988,807 
tons represents an increase of 142,429 tons or 3.8 per cent over the 
previous year. 

The number of vessels berthed alongside the cargo working 
wharves was 3,882, representing an increase of 154 over 1958, 
whilst the nett registered tonnage of these vessels at 13,045,425 
was 504,498 tons more than the previous year, constituting a record 
for the Board. 

During the year the Federation of Malaya Government permitted 
the export of Mersawa and White Meranti logs and consequently 
a promising export trade in this commodity through the port 
appears to be developing. 

A new passenger terminal and jetty at Jardine Steps, facilitating 
traffic between Singapore and the neighbouring islands, was opened 
in May 1959. 

The old Gate No. 3 at Keppel Road was closed and a new Gate 
leading into Main Entrance Road was opened in June 1959. The 
new gate has increased facilities for checking loaded vehicles, thus 
effecting a more rapid clearance of goods from the port area. 

Two single godowns, each comprising a floor area of approx- 
imately 33,000 square feet, were built to replace the four out- 
moded godowns Nos. 23, 24, 25 and 26 on the South Wall of the 
Empire Dock, resulting in the provision of additional covered 
storage space. 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 255 


The Singapore Cement Industrial Co. Ltd.’s bulk cement hand- 
ling plant, with a storage capacity of 10,000 tons of bulk cement, 
and erected on the West Wharf, was opened in March 1959. 

The Board’s tug Pitho sank, with the loss of five lives, at Keppel 
Heads following a collision with the s.s. Takashima Maru on 7th 
February, 1959. 

The Board’s Fire Brigade answered 142 calls during the period 
under review. 


DOCKYARD DEPARTMENT 


The effects of the world-wide recession in the ship repair 
industry were not so severe as anticipated and vessels with a gross 
tonnage of 1,170,207 were drydocked for repairs during the year, 
representing a decrease of only 10 per cent compared with 1958. 
The Dockyard labour force was, nevertheless, kept fully employed 
throughout the year. 

A 10-ton electric fixed Monotower crane was erected at the Tan- 
jong Pagar Dockyard. A plate folding and bending machine was 
installed at ‘the Platers Shop, Keppel Harbour, resulting in a great- 
ly enhanced output. 

Work was commenced in the Keppel Dockyard on the construc- 
tion of a diesel-powered twin-screw tug to replace the s.t. Pitho, 
with an estimated launching in early 1960. 

The Board’s subsidiary company at Tanjong Rhu, The Singapore 
Slipway & Engineering Co. Ltd., was fully employed, slipping a 
total of 153 vessels during the year. 


ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT 


Electrical energy purchased for distribution over the Board’s 
system during the year 1959 amounted to 15,163,704 units. No 
electrical energy was generated in the Board’s own power station 
during the year, but the station was maintained in a state of readi- 
ness throughout the vear in case of emergency. 

A new substation was built and commissioned at East Wharf 
in preparation for the East Wharf Development Scheme, and addi- 
tions to the telephone service, in this connection, were completed 
at the same time. 

V.H.F. Radio-telephony equipment, linked with the Board’s 
telephone exchange, was installed in three of the Board’s fire 
engines, the fire float, and five of its tugs and launches. 


256 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The electrical workshop and ship repair staff were fully employ- 
ed throughout the year. A number of radio installations aboard 
ships were modernised to conform to the latest regulations. Work 
was carried out on a number of turbo-electric tankers, including 
repairs to main motors, main auxiliary generators, cargo pump 
motors and control units for main propulsion machinery. 

The Board’s salvage tug Griper was equipped with marine radar 
during the year. 

Navigational aids serviced included 163 gyro compasses, 29 auto- 
matic pilots and 47 marine radar sets. 


CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT 


The Civil Engineering Department was responsible for the con- 
struction of the two large godowns on the South Wall of the Empire 
Dock referred to in the section pertaining to the Traffic Department. 
Concurrently with this work, considerable improvements were 
carried out to the roadways and railway tracks behind these go- 
downs. 

The Department likewise pianned and supervised the construc- 
tion of the New Gate No. 3, including the cargo checking shed 
and exit road, and the new jetty at Jardine Steps, together with 
the passenger terminal building and car park, referred to elsewhere 
in this report. 

During the latter part of the year work was commenced on the 
construction of five new blocks of flats, one for senior staff, one 
for police constables and three for artisans. 

Work was also commenced, on behalf of the City Council, on 
the construction of a large reinforced concrete culvert located 
through Board’s land from Keppel Road emitting into the sea 
between Godowns 14 and 15 at West Wharf as a flood relief mea- 
sure for the Radin Mas area. 

Work proceeded on the East Wharf Project, which will provide 
four additional deep-water berths for cargo-working. Dredging and 
the re-positioning of hulks at East Lagoon was well in hand by the 
end of the year and good progress was made with the manufacture 
of pre-cast reinforced concrete piles and units and the procurement 
of plant and materials for constructional work which is scheduled 
to commence in early 1960. 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 257 


PERSONNEL AND WELFARE DEPARTMENT 


The average number of patients in the Sick Bay during the year 
was 26. Meals supplied by the Central Kitchen to the Waterside 
Labour Force average 10,104 per day. 

In addition to the two dispensaries where employees receive 
medical treatment, the Board continued to operate three dispen- 
Saries in its main housing estates for the treatment of employees’ 
wives and children and these dealt wih 8,448 cases during the year. 


POLICE DEPARTMENT 


The routine activities of the Force continued to be satisfactorily 
maintained during the year. The authorised strength remained at 
338 all ranks and the actual strength at 3lst December, 1959 was 
318. Five recruits were enlisted and ten other ranks left the Force 
during the year for varying reasons. Five Senior N.C.O’s attended 
a six months’ course of training with the Singapore Police Ad- 
vanced Training Unit and were subsequently appointed as Pro- 
bationary Inspectors. 

Police reports recorded during 1959 covering all occurrences 
totalled 2,048. There were 285 reports for offences classified as 
theft. 

The Marine Patrol carried out 5,936 checks on lighters and small 
craft and identity documents of 10,222 persons employed or travel- 
ling on these vessels were examined. 

3,900 ocean-going vessels were visited during the year for super- 
vision of arms, explosives and dangerous cargo, whilst some 537 
man hours were spent by members of the Force in guarding arms 
and explosives stored on vessels at the wharves. 


CIVIL AVIATION 


The general pattern of airline operations at Singapore Airport 
in 1959 and the major international airline operators continued 
their normal services with the exception of the Union of Burma 
Airways which ceased operations to Singapore in June. 

B.O.A.C. introduced their Comet IV services through Singapore 
in June and Qantas operated their Boeing 707s in November. 
Malayan Airways introduced two Viscounts on their services in 
December and Cathay Pacific Airways replaced their DC6s with 
Electras in August. 


258 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The companies operating schedules and their frequencies for 


1959 were as follows: 


Services Per Week 
Arrivals Departures 


British Overseas Airways Corporation 18 19 
Qantas Empire Airways ... se 6 6 
Malayan Airways as a 53 54 


Cathay Pacific Airways ... 
Garuda Indonesian Airways 


Pan American World Airways 4 4 
Japan Airlines 3 3 
K.L.M. Royal Dutch Airlines 1 | 
Air Ceylon 1 1 
Air India 4 4 

6 6 

7 7 


The Air Trouping contract which was held by Airworks Ltd. was 
taken over by Hunting Clan. 


TRAFFIC STATISTICS 


Passengers Disembark Embark Transit Total 
1958 3 114,517 116,809 22,470 253,796 
1959 es 129,189 122,786 27,097 279,072 
Difference ... +14,672 + 5,977 + 4,627 + 25,276 
Percentage over 

1958 + 12.86% +5.1% + 20.6% + 10% 

Freight (in kilos) Set Down Picked Up Total 
1958 a ... 1,375,210 3,825,770 5,200,980 
1959 se ... 1,537,085 3,427,405 4,964,490 
Difference ..  +161,875 — 398,365 — 236,490 — 
Percentage over 1958 +11.8% — 10.4% —4.5% 

Civil Mail (in kilos) Set Down Picked Up Total 
1958 dia ne 652,438 622,906 1,275,344 
1959 _ 6 692,231 627,739 1,319,970 
Difference ve + 39,793 + 4,833 + 44,626 
Percentage over 1958 +6.1% +.8% + 3.5% 


On passenger traffic there was an overall increase of 10 per cent 
with a 20.6 per cent increase in transit passengers. 
Freight was down by 4.5 per cent on the overall volume —— 


Civil mail showed an increase of 3.5 per cent. 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 259 


LICENSING OF AIR AND GROUND CREWS AND 
AIRCRAFT CERTIFICATION 


Licensing 

The Licensing Section of the Department is responsible for the 
registration of aircraft, the issue and renewal of Aircrew Licences 
and the conducting of examinations for professional pilots and air- 
crew. The papers for these examinations are prepared and marked 
by the examiners of the Ministry of Aviation in London. 

Examinations for private pilots in Air Legislation, Navigation 
and Meteorology, Aircraft Rating (Special or General) and Radio 
are set and marked by this section. Examinations for professional 
pilots in Air Legislation, Flight Rules and Procedures are also set 
and marked by this Department. 

During the year 1959 the number of aircraft registered and pro- 


fessional and private aircrew licences issued or renewed are shown 
below: 


Type of Licence Issues Renewals Registered 
Certificate of Registration 3 — 16 
Student Pilot’s Licence ... ae 59 4 288 
Private Pilot’s Licence ... om 26 14 176 
Commercial Pilot’s Licence ; 4 
Senior Commercial Pilot’s Licence ... 3 
Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence ... 5 
Flight Navigator’s Licence — 

Flight Engineer’s Licence i 
Flight Radio Telephony Operator’ 


Licence (General) 2 — 76 
Aircraft Radio Telephony Operator” S 

Licence (Restricted) ... 22 13 83 
Aircraft Radio Maintenance Engi 

neer’s Licence ; — 2 2 
First Class Flight Radio ‘Telegraphy 

Operator’s Licence... — _ 4 


During the year a total of five aircraft were removed from the 
Singapore Register. Of these two were Austers belonging to the 
Sarawak Co., and Union Ltd. The remaining three were a Dakota 
belonging to Malayan Airways and a Cessna 170 and a Tiger Moth 
which belonged previously to the American Asiatic Shipping 
Agency and the Royal Singapore Flying Club respectively. 

Two new aircrafts were added. There were a Viscount 760D and 
a Cessna 172. 


1 


260 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Aircraft Certification 

The Air Registration Board is responsible to the Director of 
Civil Aviation for the issue and renewal of the following certifi- 
cates : 


Certificates of Licence a ; 

Inspection of aircraft pace to renewal of Certificate of 

Airworthiness 39 
Inspection of aircraft prior to extension of Certificate of 

Airworthiness bee 10 
Validation of aircraft minintenance enivineers licendes me 54 
Issue and renewal of aircraft maintenance engineers licence 78 
Type and General technical Examination (Pilots) hs 20 
Aircraft maintenance engineers licence examination sd 31 
Performance Examinations (Pilots) .. we 57 
Modifications and Concessions to aircraft approved ae 35 


OPERATIONAL SERVICES 


Air Traffic Control 

The Air Traffic Control Centre functioned in the same capacity 
as last year in regulating and expediting the safe flow of air traffic 
within the Singapore Flight Information Region. During the year 
all advisory routes over the Federation of Malaya mainland were 
upgraded to airways to provide for the high level jet aircraft that 
were in operation in the latter half of the year. 

For the same reason Oceanic Control areas were established on 
the Singapore/ Darwin and Singapore/ Djakarta/ Darwin routes. 

High level holding areas were established at Johore Bahru and 
Kuala Lumpur and additional air spaces established adjacent to 
Hong Kong and St. John’s low level holding areas to contain flight 
paths for jet aircraft carrying out high level descents into Singa- 
pore Airport. 

With the upgrading of the Advisory Routes to Airways as stated, 
only three Advisory Routes remained in the Singapore Flight In- 
formation Region. These are routes to Saigon, Hong Kong and 
Manila. Owing to the improved situation in 1959 of the emergency 
in the Federation of Malaya very few danger and restricted areas 
were promulgated and subsequently very little restriction and in- 
convenience were experienced by Airline Operators. 


Communication and Navigation Facilities 
The Telecommunications Department continued to provide and 
improved on the facilities. 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES ‘261 


The Aeronautical Telecommunications Services comprised of: 


(a) communications with aircraft in flight within the Singapore 
Flight Information Region by means of radio-telegraph 
and radio telephone circuits; 


(b) point to point communications within the Fixed Tele- 
communications network by means of radio-teletype 
through Bangkok, Djakarta, and Sydney and radio- 
telegraphy through Labuan, Kuching, Colombo, 
Madras and to any part of the world inter-linked by 
airlines services; | 

(c) provision of and maintenance of aero-navigational aids 
such as beacons, radio aids and direction finding equip- 
ment. 


The number of messages handled for the Air Traffic Control 
and for the Airline operating agencies at the Singapore Airport 
on all the above channels averaged 920 per day. 

In order to provide better air-ground-air communication cover- 
age for flights over Sarawak and Borneo territories, a “sub-Flight 
Information Region” was established by the Borneo Aviation 
Authorities which covered the whole of the Borneo territories. 

Site work and installation of the V.H.F. Omni-Range on 
_Lazarous Island was completed during the year. The equipment 
is to be calibrated in early April 1960 and will then be put into 
operation. 


Airport Fire Service 


The fire service maintained its high degree of efficiency during 
the year and regular practices and exercises were carried out with 
the co-ordination of outside organisations. The fire service turned 
out on the following occasions: 


No. of calls 
Aircraft accident or fire ... oe 5 
Aircraft emergency fe, on 3 
Visibility Standby be: as 5 
Local Standby oe me 68 
Domestic Fires ws on 16 
Special Service se ee 144 
Practice, test or drill... ans 6 
Refuelling Standby sats a 190 


262 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Operational Planning 


The construction of the Operations building is progressing satis- 
factorily. 

Intensive detailed planning of space allocation and the equip- 
ment requirements together with the provisions for installation 
have been finalised and it is hoped that the building will be 
occupied sometime towards the end of 1960. 

During the early part of the year airline representatives have 
been having meetings with this Department to meet the Airport 
requirements on the introduction of jet civil aircraft to replace 
piston-engined aircraft. 

This Department is aware of the recommendations of I.C.A.O. 
requirements at the meeting held in Rome in January of 1959 as 
officers from Singapore were present and had actually planned to 
carry this out. These would be: 


(a) the extension of the runway and taxiway; 
(b) additional parking requirements; 

(c) modification of refuelling system; 

(ad) additional facilitation requirements; 


(e) new ATC procedures. 


To meet these additional requirements and in particular for the 
new ATC procedures, the A.LS. had to draw out new holding 
areas to conform to the needs of the jet aircraft and the pro- 
mulgation of controlled airspaces. 


STAFF TRAINING 


At the beginning of the year this Department was assisted by 
Colombo Plan experts to train the staff in ATC and Aeronautical 
Communication. As their terms of office expired in September, a 
request for their extension was approved for another year. In re- 
organising the licensing section it was desirable for one of the 
Department’s local senior officers to proceed overseas for the 
necessary training and in the absence of this officer in Australia, 
arrangements were completed for a licensing officer of Director- 
General of Civil Aviation Australia under the auspices of the 
Colombo Plan to assist this Department for one year. This officer 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 263 


arrived in September and is busily engaged in reviewing the Licens- 
ing Regulations. It is unfortunate that the senior local officer who 
was due to proceed to Australia for the necessary training could 
not do so but there will be a possibility of his departure early next 
year. | 


-~MALAYAN METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE 


~The Malayan Meteorological Service is a pan-Malayan depart- 
ment financed jointly by the Governments of the Federation of 
Malaya and the State of Singapore and with headquarters in Singa- 
pore. The Governments of the British territories in Borneo also 
pay towards the annual cost of the service in return for the pro- 
vision of meteorological services for aviation in the British Borneo 
Region. 

The Service maintains ten first order meteorological stations and 
43 auxiliary stations in the Federation of Malaya, and one first 
order station in Singapore. The main Meteorological Office and 
the Upper. Air Observatory are in Singapore while a dependent 
Meteorological Office functions at Kuala Lumpur Airport. 

The Telecommunications Department operates all radio facilities 
for the collective broadcast of basic meteorological data from 
observing stations in Malaya, Singapore and British Territories of 
Borneo, and for the reception of similar data from all neighbour- 
ing countries in South-East Asia and West Pacific. More urgent 
meteorological information is exchanged with other meteorological 
services and aircraft by means of the aeronautical telecommunica- 
tions service. Radar equipment for upper air soundings and storm 
detection are also maintained by the Telecommunications Depart- 
ment. 


Meteorological Services for Aviation ob 

Meteorological services for aviation continues to be the largest 
activity in the Department. The meteorological offices at Singapore 
and Kuala Lumpur are responsible for the provision of meteoro- 
logical information necessary for the safe and efficient operation 
of aircraft within the Singapore Flight Information Region. During 
1959 a total of 55,670 forecasts and 64,130 weather reports were 
supplied for aviation. 

‘The. coming of the jet age has brought into Salis ‘service high 
flying turbo-jet aircraft in Singapore and created new problems 


264 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


in the field of aeronautical meteorology. Attempts are being made 
to solve these problems by research and improved techniques of 
high level forecasting. 


Meteorological Services for Shipping 


Weather forecasts for the Straits of Malacca and South China 
Seas are broadcast twice daily for all ships operating in these 
waters. The Service maintains 17 ‘selected ships’ based in Singa- 
pore. These ships are supplied with meteorological instruments and 
send regular weather reports to coastal radio stations in Singapore, 
Penang and Borneo. Selected ships from other countries also send 
weather reports while in the China Seas and Straits of Malacca. A 
total of 10,194 reports were received during 1959. 

During the months of the north-east monsoon a special watch 
was maintained over the coastal waters of Eastern Malaya. Weather 
conditions over these areas were broadcast over Radios Singapore 
and Malaya, and a total of 173 weather bulletins were issued dur- 
ing 1959. In addition, warnings of strong winds, rough seas and 
swell were broadcast over the radio or communicated to interested 
agencies and departments in the Federation. Forty-six warnings 
were issued in 1959. 


Other Services 


Weather forecasts, climatological data, and miscellaneous items 
of meteorological information were supplied to the press, Govern- 
ment departments, meteorological services in other countries, ship- 
ping companies, comunercial firms, research workers and other in- 
terested organisations and individuals. 


METEOROLOGICAL RESEARCH 


The storm warning radar at Kota Bharu was fully operative by 
the beginning of the 1958-59 north-east monsoon season and a 
meteorological officer from Singapore was seconded to record and 
study the storms common during this season over the east coast of 
Malaya. A similar study was carried out with the radar equipment 
at Singapore Airport and the results of the experiment were used 
to improve methods of forecasting storms over the east coast of 
Malaya during the monsoon. 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 265 


MALAYAN RAILWAY 


The Singapore Railway Station which was built in 1932, 1s 
located at Keppel Road and approximately 16 miles of the 
Malayan Railway lie within the State of Singapore. The Railway 
Station building which is outstanding for its architectural features, 
contains an up-to-date hotel with air-conditioned rooms. There 
is a goods depot with covered and open space for dealing with 
freight which is conveyed to and from the Federation. A branch 
line links the Malayan Railway with the Singapore Harbour 
Board’s lines serving wharves, godowns and latex and palm oil 
installations in the port area. 

The main line of the Malayan Railway runs from Singapore to 
Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the Federation of Malaya (246 
miles) and thence to Prai (a further 242 miles), the rail terminal 
on the mainland. The connection from Prai to Penang is by 
Railway Ferry. Day and Night trains connect Singapore with Kuala 
Lumpur, Ipoh and Penang. Through international express 
passenger train services between Prai and Bangkok run twice a 
week. The East Coast Line branches off the main line at Gemas, 
137 miles north of Singapore, and runs to Tumpat, a distance of 
465 miles from Singapore, with a through service thrice a week. 
Comfortable air-conditioned first class buffet and sleeping cars 
and cooled second class buffet cars now provided on all principal 
trains, are popular among all communities. Second class sleeping 
accommodation and third class coaches have been greatly 
improved. 

The number of passengers entraining at Singapore for Federation 
destinations was: 


1957 1958 1959 
Ist Class ve sit 11,325 11,128 14,375 
2nd Class ee "Be 82,190 80,547 84,660 
3rd Class - ... 142,837 136,786 146,448 
Goods 

Forwarded from Singapore to 

the Federation (tons) ... 227,887 186,525 209,670 
Received in Singapore from 

the Federation (tons) ... 228,261 231,643 254,141 


Diesel Rail-cars have been introduced in the Federation, but 
these have not yet been extended to Singapore. 


266 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


VEHICLES 


Motor Vehicles are registered under the Road Traffic Ordinance 
in the Registrar of Vehicles Department, formerly under the 
Singapore City Council, but brought under the direct charge of 
the Deputy Prime Minister in October 1959. The numbers of 
motor vehicles registered in Singapore during the last 3 years were 
as follows:— 

Total Vehicles Total 
Vehicles Newly Vehicles 
Registered Registered Registered 


on 31-12-58 in 1959 on 31-12-59 
Buses, taxis and Commer- 


cial Passenger Vehicles 4,367 271 4,638 
Goods Vehicles as 12,443 609 13,052 
Private Cars as 53,521 4,373 57,894 
Motor Cycles oe 12,253 2,053 14,306 
Trishas seas es 3,643 — 3,643 
Tricycles a bes 10,488 1,245 11,733 
Bicycles ams ie 243,930 11,701 255,631 
Trailers a she 130 — 130 
Others aie sa 2,166 19 2,185 


The number of motor vehicles increased during 1959 by 7,306 
as compared with a 8,080 increase during 1958. 

The total revenue collected was $13,945,041.04 and the cost 
of collection was $787,537.76. The latter figure includes the cost 
of an inspectorate which investigates and prosecutes offences, under 
rules and by-laws for the licensing and control of vehicles and 
drivers, and which examines vehicles for road worthiness. The 
former figure does not include the royalty paid by the Singapore 
Traction Company in lieu of fees. 

At the beginning of the year there were 950 buses and 50 
trolley buses with a combined seating and standing capacity of 
48,129. By the end of the year these figures had increased to 969 
and 50 trolley buses with a combined seating and standing 
capacity of 51,075. Omnibus services are operated by one public 
and 13 private bus companies. The increase in vehicles was not 
enough to cope with the increasing passenger demand and over- 
crowding continued in spite of the fact that new buses being 
registered have more seats than the old ones which they are 
replacing. 

The number of taxis registered for the year was 3,044 as 
compared with 2,802 for 1958. All taxis are fitted with taxi-meters. 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 267 


Inspections of motor vehicles totalled 46,500. Successful 
prosecutions were conducted against owners of vehicles found in 
a dangerous condition. Trisha inspections numbered 7,507. 

The Vehicles Department has taken over the running of Car 
parks under the Parking Places Scheme vide Government Gazette 
Supplement No. S (N.S.) 91 of 4th September, 1959. The scheme 
is designed to help daily visitors to the busy commercial and 
administrative centre of the City. Members of the public can, on 
payment of the prescribed fee, park their vehicles for shorter or 
longer periods as the case may be, in a nearby area. Three car 
parks, with 613 spaces in all, were initially brought under the 
scheme. This is proving to be insufficient and it is intended to 
extend the scheme to further areas early next year. It is also 
proposed to introduce ‘season tickets’ for the benefit of office 
workers who regularly use these car parks. | 


TELECOMMUNICATIONS 


The services provided by the Telecommunications Department 
are threefold in nature as follows: 


(a) Telecommunication Services for the public and for 
commercial uses. 


(b) Services for the fulfilment of international obligations with 
regard to the safety of life at sea and in the air. 


(c) Services for other Government or quasi-government 
organisations either by the provision of special telecom- 
munication facilities or the installation and maintenance 
of special electronic equipment to meet their needs. 


With the exception of the local telephone system, which is 
managed by a Board, the Telecommunications Services in 
Singapore are under the control of the Director of Telecommunica- 
tions, Singapore. 1959 was another year of progress for the 
Department and development of the services continued unabated. 

The highlights of the year were the opening of the Singapore 
Terminal of the Malayan Microwave Trunk Telephone System on 
26th September, 1959, by the Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. 
Lee Kuan Yew, in an inaugural telephone call with the Prime 
Minister of the Federation of Malaya, Y.T.M. Tengku Abdul 
Rahman Putra, and the inauguration of the International Telex 
Service in conjunction with Messrs. Cable & Wireless Ltd. 


268 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


The services provided by the Department during 1959 were: 
' (a) Public Telegraph Services. 

(b) The Internal and International Telex Services. 

(c) Trunk Telephone Services. 

(d) Overseas Radio-telephone Services. 

(e) Marine Radiocommunication Services. 

(f) Short Range Public Radio-telephone Services to Ships. 


(g) International and Internal Aeronautical Telecommunica- 
tion Services. 


_ (A) Internal and Overseas Radio Services for the Meteorolog- 
ical Department. 


(i) Malayan Railway Communications. 


(j) Transmission and Reception of Overseas Radio Press and 
the provision of local Teleprinter Broadcast networks 
for Press Agencies. 


(k) Local VHF Radio-telephone Services. 


The estimated revenue of the Department for 1959 was $6.5 
millions as against an estimated expenditure of $4.9 millions 
which excludes capital and development projects. 


Overseas Telegraph Service 


Cable and Wireless Limited operate overseas telegraph circuits 
both by cable and radio to all parts of the world. Direct duplex 
cable circuits are maintained on a 24-hour daily basis with the 
United Kingdom, India, Ceylon, Australia, South Africa, Hong- 
kong, the Philippines, Indonesia and Borneo and the majority of 
these circuits are supplemented by high-speed radio point-to-point 
services using automatic equipment similar to that of the cable 
circuits. Thus the best use can be made of both to meet traffic 
loads and atmospheric conditions. 

Radio facsimile services for the transmission and reception of 
photographs, drawings and documents of all kinds are provided 
between Singapore and the United Kingdom, U.S.A., Australia, 
Ceylon, Hongkong and Japan. 

The provision of leased circuits to meet demands of modern 
business and particularly Airline operators has continued during 
1959. International Telex Service, in conjunction with the 
Telecommunications Department, was introduced during April 
1959, to meet the same demand of smaller operators. 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 269 


An unique picture storage equipment is in operation at the 
Company’s Receiving Station. This enables transit radio pictures 
to be received at the most advantageous time from the office of 
origin and stored on magnetic tape. They may then be transmitted 
onward to the office of destination, without loss of quality and 
again at the most advantageous time. 

Daily maintenance of the automatic atmospheric noise equip- 
ment installed by the American Bureau of Standards has also 
been provided by the Company in collaboration with the Depart- 
ment of Scientific and Industrial Research. Further association 
between the Company and the D.S.I.R. on noise measurement 
projects is anticipated for the coming year. 


Traffic 


Details of terminal traffic handled through the Company’s 
offices in Singapore during 1959 were: 
Messages accepted for Transmission : — 
Cable and Wireless Counters ... i 665,018 
From Singapore Department of Telecommunications . 87,267 
From Federation Department of Telecommitnications 113,350 
Messages received for Delivery :— 
Cable and Wireless Delivery . 656,689 
Through Department of Telecommiunications: Singapore 34,655 


Through pepe of Telecommunications, Federa- 
tion... be . 103,161 


This represents less than 50 per cent of the total telegraph 
traffic handled. The balance is transit traffic to and from other 
points of the Company’s world-wide network. 


Developments 


The latest multi-channel telegraph equipment has been installed, 
which has further increased the carrying capacity of each radio 
transmitter from the 800 words per minute which was possible 
in 1958, to nearly 2,000 words per minute without adding to the 
congestion of radio channels. Further revision of serial designs 
and provision of the latest type of receiver have enabled the 
maximum use to be made of the increased carrying capacity now 
available. 

Work is in hand which, by even fuller utilization of modern 
equipment and techniques, will reduce the handling time of all 
messages transiting the Cable and Wireless Central Telegraph 
Office. The full integration of cable and radio routes is now a 
fact and the conversion to the five unit system is virtually complete. 


270 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Cable Factory and Depot 


The Cable Depot, established in 1875 and now employing over 
100 men continues the manufacture of cable for the maintenance 
and renewal of Cable and Wireless Far Eastern cable system. 
Following the recently completed renewal in this area, manufacture 
was restricted to 600 nautical miles during the year which is well 
below 50 per cent of capacity. 

Besides the manufacture of cable, the factory acts as a Depot 
for the Company’s repair ships and, besides ships stores and 
repair gear, maintains a stock position of 1,000 miles of cable 
immediately available to meet any emergency. 

Two cable laying and repair ships were based at the Depot 
during 1959, c.s. Recorder, 3,349 tons, and c.s. Retriever, 
1,538 tons. Between them they maintain the cable system from 
Singapore as far afield as Durban, Colombo, Hongkong, Van- 
couver, Australia and New Zealand. During the year Recorder 
made two trips to the Pacific and carried out an extensive renewal 
programme between Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. 


Public Telegraph Service 


The Public Telegraph Service is provided by the Department 
for communication with the Federation of Malaya, and with 
Siam, Sarawak, Brunei and Christmas Island. A VHF Radio 
system is used to provide the teleprinter circuits for the service 
to Federation of Malaya, whilst communication with Siam and 
Sarawak is by Radio-teletype, and with Christmas Island and 
Brunei by Radio-telegraphy. 

The number of telegrams handled during 1959 was 892,550 
excluding traffic handled through phonograms circuits. 


The Internal and International Telex Services 


The Internal Telex Service is a public teleprinter service offered 
by the Department whereby teleprinter communication between 
the offices of commercial houses, news agencies and other concerns 
in Singapore and the Federation of Malaya are made available for 
the transmission and reception of business correspondence. 

Subscribers to this service have the choice of either being 
connected on demand to any other subscriber through the 
Teleprinter Exchanges in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and 
Ipoh, or being limited to certain specified direct connections 
without going through the Exchanges. 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 271 


Teleprinter and associated equipment are rented out to sub- 
scribers as well as to Government Departments. The number of 
Teleprinters on hire during 1959 was 277 and the revenue derived 
from this source was $296,037.00. 

The International Telex Service which is an extension of the 
public teleprinter service to overseas countries was inaugurated 
in April 1959 in conjunction with Messrs. Cable & Wireless. 
Subscribers in Singapore and the Federation of Malaya can be 
connected on demand to any subscriber in the following countries: 


Europe South Africa 
Austria South Africa 
Demark S. Rhodesia 
E. Germany Nyasaland 
W. Germany Lagos 
Eire ; 
Finland Amer pees 
Fiance Argentina 
Hungary Brazil 
Luxembourg Canada 
Netherlands (Holland) US.A. 
Norway Australia 
Portugal 
Spain Hongkong 
Sweden japan 
Switzerland 
United Kingdom Philippines 


Most of the countries in Europe, U.S.A. and Canada work 
throughout the 24-hours while others are from dawn to dusk. 

With the introduction of international working the Singapore 
Telex Switchboard has become the main switching point of the 
Pan-Malayan telex system and in consequence the Singapore 
Switchboard has been enlarged from three to five positions. 

Messrs. Cable & Wireless provide the radio paths and also 
maintain the error correcting equipment whilst the Telecoms. 
Department control the switching, and the provision and main- 
tenance of subscribers equipment. 

The number of international calls for the period April to 
December 1959 was 4,548 and the revenue amounted to 
$23,848.00. 


272 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


TELEPHONES 


The local telephone system within Singapore island is under 
the control and management of the Singapore Telephone Board. 
The system is entirely automatic and is served at present from 
ten exchanges, the ultimate capacity of the exchange buildings is 
117,000 lines. 

The present equipped capacity of the exchange is 53,000 lines; 
8,000 lines in the new Paya Lebar Exchange were opened for 
service in November. Work was commenced on a 4,000 line 
extension at City and 1,000 line extensions at Central and 
Queenstown. At Tanjong Katong a 2,700 line extension was 
opened for service in August, and 800 lines were added to North 
Exchange. 

Two further exchanges of 3,000 lines ultimate capacity each 
are planned, one for Changi for which land has been purchased 
and work is expected to start early in 1960, and the other at 
Nee Soon where preparatory work has been started. 

Cable and pipeline works complementary to exchange installa- 
tions were carried out. A total of 8,500 local circuits were 
distributed during the year for present and future applicants. 

The number of exchange lines in service at the end of 1958 
was 34,717 and there were 19,630 extensions. 

3,788 new applications for exchange lines were received during 
1959, and 3,644 new lines were connected; there remains a 
backlog of 3,367 applicants still to be offered service compared 
with 6,500 at the end of last year. 

Telephone communication between Singapore and the Federation 
of Malaya is effected by trunk circuits provided and maintained 
by the Department of Telecommunications. The Singapore 
Telephone Board’s trunk telephone exchange handled about 2,500 
unit calls a day originated or received by Singapore subscribers 
via these trunk circuits. 


Trunk ‘Telephone Service 


With the opening of the new Microwave Radio Terminal 
Station at Fort Canning on the 26th September, 1959 the trunk 
telephone service between Singapore and the Federation of Malaya 
which was hitherto routed over a VHF Radio System is now 
entirely operated over the Microwave Radio Link. An interesting 
feature to observe is that the full capacity of the microwave link 
is 600 circuits compared with the full capacity of 96 circuits on 
the VHF Radio System. By the employment of a tone signalling 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 273 


system for direct trunk dialling much speedier handling of trunk 
Calls are possible. 

Special high quality circuits are provided on this link for the 
exchange of broadcast programme material between Radio 
Singapore and Radio Malaya. Voice frequency telegraph and 
private speech circuits are also carried on this link. 


Overseas Radio-Telephone Service 


A very popular service operated and maintained by the 
Department is the Overseas Radio-telephone Service enabling 
telephone communication between Singapore and the Federation 
of Malaya and almost any part of the world. During the past 
two years this service has developed so rapidly that the traffic 
has almost doubled during this period. In 1959 two additional 
circuits were opened up namely the Singapore/Seoul and the 
Singapore/Pulau Samboe links. At the close of the year the 
following links were in operation: 


1. Singapore/London serving Europe, Canada and U.S.S.R. 
2. Singapore/San Francisco serving North America. 
3. Singapore/Amsterdam serving Holland. 
4. Singapore/Taipeh via Hong Kong, serving Formosa. 
5. Singapore/Sydney serving Australia and New Zealand. 
6. Singapore/Osaka, serving Japan. 
7. Singapore/Poona, serving India. 
8. Singapore/Manila via Hong Kong, serving Philippines. 
9. Singapore /Bandoeng, serving Indonesia. 
10. Singapore /Bangkok, serving Thailand. 
11. Singapore/Hong Kong, serving Hong Kong and Macao. 
12. Singapore/Jesselton, serving Jesselton and Labuan. 
13. Singapore/Seoul via Hong Kong serving South Korea. 
14. Singapore/Pulau Samboe. 
For the year 1959 the number of radio-telephone calls handled 
was 46,760 an increase of 11,900 over the 1958 traffic. The 
revenue from this source amounted to $678,535.00 about: 


$150,000.00 more than the previous year. 


MARINE RADIOCOMMUNICATION SERVICE 

Facilities for public communication to and from ships at sea by 
radio-telegraphy and radio-telephony were provided by the 
Department’s Radio Coast Station using the international radio. 
call sign VPW and operating on medium and high frequency 
channels. In addition to the acceptance and transmission of 
messages to and from ships by wireless telegraphy as well as by 
radio-telephony, radio watches for the interception of distress: 
safety and urgency signals from ships at sea were maintained in. 
accordance with the International Maritime Shipping Service: 


274 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Regulations. Apart from these some special services such as 
meteorological reports and medical and navigational aid messages 
were also received and broadcast by the Singapore station. 
Commercial and private messages to and from ships at sea, 
including ship letter telegrams handled by the Singapore Radio 
Coast Station during 1959 numbered approximately 87,430. For 
communication with coastal vessels operating in the Malayan 
waters a marine radio-telephone service was also provided. 


Short Range Public Telephone Service to Ships 

Since the shipping industry is of vital importance to Singapore 
this service was introduced in December 1958 to enable ships 
approaching the port to be connected to the Singapore Public 
Telephone System while the ship is within a range of 40 miles out 
at sea. By this means Masters of ships can contact their Agents 
several hours before entering the port to make enquiries or receive 
instructions concerning docking arrangements, and the discharge 
of cargoes or to pass information of the Masters’ requirements on 
entering port. Passengers on board the ships and the public of 
Singapore can also contact each other for business or private 
conversations. 

Singapore was among the first port in the world to provide 
facilities to comply with the recommendations of the International 
Maritime VHF Radiotelephone Conference held at The Hague 
in 1957. Traffic handled during the first few months of the year 
was relatively light but a gradual increase was noted during the 
latter half of the year as more companies fitted their ships with 
suitable equipment. 


Internal and Overseas Radio Services for the Meteorological 
Department 


The maintenance of radio equipment and the operation of 
reception and broadcast services for the collection and interchange 
of meteorological information from Australia, Tangiers, San 
Francisco, Manila, Ceylon, New Delhi, Djakarta, Hong Kong, etc. 
were carried out by the Department. The total number of messages 
handled during the year was approximately 426,360. 

During December 1959 work was commenced to modify the 
St. John’s Island long range aeronautical non-directional beacon 
to permit speech broadcast carrying meteorological information 
to aircraft in flight. It is expected that this facility will be brought 
into use in 1960. 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 715 


Malayan Railway Communications 

The installation and maintenance of Railway telegraph, train 
control telephones, and electric signalling equipment were carried 
out by the Telecommunications Department. These services are 
provided on a chargeable basis in accordance with an existing 
agreement with the Malayan Railways. 


Overseas Radio Press and the Provision of Local Teleprinter 

Broadcast Networks for Press Agencies 

Facilities are provided for the Press Agencies whereby press 
copy is received from and transmitted to many parts of the world. 
As increasing use is being made of Singapore as a relay centre for 
such information there is a growing demand from the Press 
Agencies for this service and the Department has been able to 
meet all requirements. Teleprinter networks are available for the 
local distribution of press information. 

These services are provided on a rental basis and the revenue 
derived for the year 1959 was $454,600. 


Local VHF Radio-Telephone Services 


The Department provides and maintains on a chargeable basis 
VHF radio-telephone services for the following: 


City Water Department Immigration Department 

City Electrical Department Government Health Department 
Singapore Fire Brigade Civil Defence Services 

The Auxiliary Fire Service P.W.D. Marine Department 
Rural Board Fire Service War Department 


Customs and Excise Department Master Attendant’s Department 
and the St. John’s Island—Singapore Radio-telephone link. 

There were nine main stations for the above services installed 
at the Department’s VHF Station at Mount Faber through which 
a total of 179 stations comprising mobile land stations, mobile 
marine stations and fixed land sub-stations linked in the VHF 
Network in Singapore. 

During the year the Department installed and brought into 
service a new VHF Network to link the various Departmental 
Offices in the city, the out-stations and maintenance vehicles. This 
system provides emergency telephone commumcations between 
stations in the event of a main cable breakdown, and also permits 
control of Departmental maintenance vehicles during their normal 
daily routine maintenance journeys. ~ 

In October 1959 the Department took over the Singapore 
terminal equipment of a VHF point-to-point link between 


276 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Singapore and Pulau Samboe which was formerly operated by a 
private company. This link provides telephone and teleprinter 
connections between the two islands. 

Work was commenced in March 1959 and was rapidly 
approaching completion by the end of the year, on the installation 
of an aeronautical radio navigational aid known as VHF Omni- 
directional range (V.O.R.). This facility when used with suitable 
equipment fitted in an aircraft, gives the captain of an airliner a 
direct indication on a meter on the flight control panel, of the 
course on which he must fly to reach Singapore. The facility is 
effective at ranges up to 120 miles. 


Phonograms 


_ A phonogram suite consisting of seven operating positions was 
in commission at the Central Telegraph Office at Fullerton 
Building for the transmission and reception of telegrams by 
telephone, by Government Departments, sub-Post Offices, those 
Operating telegram deposit accounts with the Department, and 
with the use of the Credit System by the general public. The 
number of messages handled during 1959 was 130,920. 


STAFF 


At the close of the year the number of staff employed by the 
Department was 826, and six candidates are in the United 
Kingdom, undergoing Scholarship Courses of four-year duration 
to enable them to qualify for Division I appointments in the 
Department on their return. Apart from these the Department 
conducted its own training courses, at the Departmental Training 
Centre at ‘Gracelyn’, Kuala Lumpur, and 41 of the technical staff 
were sent to attend various courses in 1959. 


POSTAL SERVICES 


The Postal Services Department in the State of Singapore is 
part of a pan-Malayan postal organisation with Headquarters 
in Kuala Lumpur in the Federation of Malaya. Local control of 
the Singapore department is in the hands of the Director of Posts, 
Singapore. 

Singapore enjoys a central geographical position and is served 
by rapid and frequent air and sea services in the East-West network 
of communications. Because of these advantages, the Singapore 
Post Office has taken on the role of an important postal distribu- 
tion depot for the neighbouring countries of Brunei, Indonesia, 


COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 277 


North Borneo, Philippines, Sarawak and Thailand. Large quan- 
tities of mail destined for and originating from these territories 
pass through the hands of the Singapore Post Office. The bulk of 
the airmail and some of the surface mail to and from the 
Federation of Malaya are also received in Singapore for onward 
transmission. 

The services provided by the Post Office are not confined only 
to those of a postal character. Apart from its main function of 
collecting, despatching and delivering different categories of mail, 
it also provides other important services such as the Post Office 
Savings Bank, the Money Order and Postal Order services. Post 
Offices in the State also perform agency services on behalf of other 
Government departments, which include the acceptance of tel- 
egrams, the collection of Central Provident Fund contributions, 
the payment of Army and Air Force allowances and the issue of 
Broadcasting Licences. A scheme has also been drawn up for the 
payment of Social Welfare Allowance to deserving members of the 
public through post offices in different parts of the State. 

Singapore is divided into 28 numbered postal districts. This 
arrangement which was part of an overall postal distribution 
system aimed at expediting the delivery of correspondence to the 
public has proved successful. The public has made increasing use 
of postal district numbers over the years. Despite this, however, 
nearly a million incorrectly and insufficiently addressed items had 
to receive special treatment in the Dead Letter Office and out of 
this some 196,000 items could neither be delivered nor returned 
to their senders. 

The Singapore Post Office provides three postal deliveries on 
weekdays in the central area of the City and two deliveries in 
most of the remaining parts of the island. During 1959, nearly 
108 million items of all categories of correspondence, including 
parcels, were dealt with as compared with 99 million items in the 
preceding year. 

Two new post offices were opened for business during the year— 
one in Serangoon Garden Estate and the other at Queenstown. 
Their opening brought the total number of post offices in service 
to 34 at the close of the year. Apart from post offices which 
provide a full range of counter and mail facilities, there are postal 
agencies that offer restricted postal facilities. The number of postal 
agencies in operation has increased considerably over the last few 
years from seven in 1954 to 27 at the end of 1959. The need for 
improved postal facilities in the more remote areas was met by 


278 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


2 Mobile Post Offices which continued to perform good service 
throughout the year. A total of 14 Class ‘A’ and 48 Class ‘B’ 
Stamp Vending Licences were issued during the year to augment 
the postal facilities in the State. 

With the installation of four additional posting boxes during 
the year, the total number of boxes in use at the close of 1959 
was 253. The Singapore Post Office maintained a fleet of 38 
vans, 6 motor cycles and 220 bicycles for use in the transportation 
and delivery of mails. 

To commemorate the new Singapore Constitution a set of six 
special postage stamps of a common design was issued on Ist 
June, 1959. The main feature of the new stamp was the legendary 
‘Singa-Sari’ Lion, a symbol associated with the Royal House of 
Singa-Sari. It seems likely that a member of this Royal House 
led the founding of the first settlement in Singapore. 

The total authorised staff of the Singapore Postal Services 
Department for 1959 was 1,067. The administrative and opera- 
tional control of the Department is in the hands of a Director of 
Posts, two Controllers of Posts and nine Assistant Controllers of 
Posts. This Department was completely Malayanized in April 1959. 

In the sphere of staff training, more classes were organised and 
conducted during the year by the Post Office Training School for 
newly recruited staff. Every effort was made to encourage the 
study of Malay—the national language, and two classes were 
conducted by staff volunteers towards the latter part of the year. 

The cash turnover of the Singapore Post Office in 1959 was 
$232,202,395.84. 

Post Office Savings Bank operations are described in Chapter 
Four. 


Foreign Mail 

Singapore makes up airmail despatches to 240 overseas destina- 
tions. Despatches are made daily to 140 of these destinations and 
at a frequency of six times a week and under to the remaining 
100 destinations. It is estimated that a total of 26 million items 
of airmail correspondence were dealt with during the year at the 
Airport Sorting Office at Paya Lebar which operates round the 
clock and deals specially with air mails. 

In spite of the continued increase in the use of air mail services, 
the volume of postal traffic carried by sea, rail and road remained 
substantial. The Singapore Post Office handled a total of 184,030 
bags of surface mail in the course of the year. 


XII a HEALTH 


HE HEALTH Services in Singapore are founded on a unified 

preventive and curative health structure and provide medical 
and health care through full-time staff. It is substantially ‘free’, be- 
cause it is considered that a fee-for-service basis for modern medi- 
cine is beyond the means of the average citizen. This basic pattern 
was established half a century ago and still persists, except that, as 
the society and circumstances developed, the private practice of 
medicine and the activities of voluntary health agencies expanded. 
Contrary to the belief that in a unified service the pressures of 
curative care invite neglect of preventive services, the health admin- 
istration in Singapore has been able to keep the preventive and 
curative services in tandem and balance, and has been able to 
achieve more with available resources, through a unified pro- 
gramme than through separate programmes of preventive and 
curative care. 

The responsibilities for health are divided but co-ordinated be- 
tween the Ministry of Health and the local authority health depart- 
ments. These health agencies are supplemented by the Public 
Works Department and the City Engineer’s Department who to- 
gether are responsible for the water supply, sewage disposal, drain- 
age, city and rural cleansing and refuse disposal. The Ministry of 
Health operates a system of hospitals, clinics and dispensaries and 
health centres. This includes a 1,200-bed modern general hospital 
with a large out-patient department, a district hospital, and five 
specialised hospitals for tuberculosis, maternity and gynecology, 
venereal diseases, infectious diseases and orthopedic conditions, a 
settlement for leprosy patients and an institution for mental 
patients. All resources are used to full capacity—and beyond! An 
expansion programme has been planned and is being implemented. 
The Government’s hospitals (excluding the leprosy and mental care 
facilities) provide 2.4 beds per 1,000 persons, and furnish in-patient 


280 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


care of a little over one patient one day per capita and 1.5 out- 
patient attendances per capita during 1959. These governmental 
Services are supplemented by five voluntary hospitals and by a 
subsidized voluntary anti-tuberculosis clinic service. The health 
administration is able to claim that a bed in a hospital or a place 
in a clinic is always found for an emergency or a very sick person. 
Unified Administration 

One of the important features of 1959 was the first steps taken 
to establish a unified co-ordinated and effective administration of 
public medical and health services under the Ministry of Health. 
To this end in November 1959, the responsibility for the health 
services of the local authorities was transferred to the Minister 
for Health. In the Ministry itself active steps were taken towards 
the establishment of the Hospital Division which would bring all 
hospital administration under the unified administration of the 
A.D.M.S. (Hospitals). From June onwards in the re-allocation of 
functions the Government Ministries, the Department of Chemistry 
was brought under the Ministry of Health. 

Singapore still has a shortage of medical and nursing personnel 
in the public service but this situation is expected to be relieved 
in due course because of the rising output of the University’s 
Medical Faculty and the Government School of Nursing. In 1959, 
there was one physician per 2,300 persons, one qualified dentist 
per 19,000 persons (one dentist of all categories per 4,000) and one 
nurse (all types) per 800. Despite the extensive public medical 
service, more than half of the physicians on the Medical Register 
are engaged in private practice. 

The aggregate public expenditure for health in 1959 was $37.5 
million which represents $25 per capita. 

Singapore remains free from cholera, plague, and yellow fever 
in 1959. A minor outbreak of smallpox occurred in April in- 
volving ten cases with two deaths, initiated by a transit passenger 
possessing a valid international vaccination certificate. No cases 
of malaria of indigenous origin occurred during the year. 

Singapore still has many health needs. Tuberculosis presents the 
most serious problem; the Report on the Pilot Survey conducted 
under the Colombo Plan was ready in 1959 and sets the incidence 
at 3 per cent of the population. 


HEALTH 


Table I 


SINGAPORE 


MASS TUBERCULOSIS SURVEY—1958 
Residents X-Rayed by Age Group and Sex 


Males 

Age Group in years No. 
No. Active 

X-Rayed “Cases 

14 ee — 779 3 
15—19 ... ... 5,564 76 
20—24 ... w. 4,413 110 
25—29 ... ... 3,770 148 
30—34 ... ... 3,134 136 
35—39 ... ... 2,566 142 
40—44 ... w. 2,289 188 
45—49 ... ... 2,404 190 


Total under 50 years ... 24,939 993 


50—54 ... ... 1,744 187 
55—59 ... ... 1,319 134 
60—64 ... a 682 84 
65 and over Bae 567 59 
Total over 50 years ... 4,312 464 
Not stated... 149 2 


Total ... 29,400 1,459 


% 


3 
1.3 
2.4 
4.1 
4.3 
5.4 
8.2 
7.9 


3.6 


10.7 
10.1 
12.3 
10.4 


10.7 
1.3 


4.9 


No. 
X-Rayed 


551 
3,258 
2,921 
2,555 
2,170 
1,941 
1,823 
1,936 


17,155 


1,583 
1,154 
634 
622 


4,002 
116 


21,273 


Females 


No. 
Active 
Cases 


3 
22 
35 
36 
47 
51 
54 
58 


306 


281 


1.9 


(1.5 per cent in the rural and 4.0 per cent in the urban population surveyed) 


Control is difficult because a large proportion of the population 
live in slums and squatter areas despite heroic public and private 


measures for the improvement of housing. 


Vital statistics maintain a progressive decline; the birth rate 
39.8 (compared with 42.0 in 1958; total births, 64,067), the crude 
death-rate 6.4 (compared with 7.0 in 1958 of total deaths 10,246), 
infantile mortality 36.0 (compared with 43.73 in 1958) and maternal 
mortality rates 0.7 (compared with 0.8 in 1958). 


282 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Table II 
SINGAPORE 


Estimated Live-Births Crude Births Deaths Crude Deaths 


Population whichoccurred Rate per Registered Rates per 
Mid-1959 in 1959 1,000 Popn. in 1959 1,000 Popn. 
1,579,600 62,464 39.5 10,175 6.4 
Table Ill 


SINGAPORE 


Still-Births Registered in 1947, 1957, 1958 and 1959 and Still-Birth Rates 
(The rate is the number of still-births per 1,000 total live-births and still-births) 


1947 1957 1958 1959 
No. Rate No. Rate No. Rate No. ~ Rate 
All Races... 671 15.3 968 15.4 965 15.2 862 13.6 
Table IV 
SINGAPORE 
INFANT DEATHS REGISTERED IN 1947, scale : 958 AND 1959 AND INFANT MORTALITY 


(The rate is the number of deaths under | year of age per 1,000 live-births) 


Infant Infant Infant Infant Infant Infant Infant Infant 
deaths morta- deaths morta- deaths morta- deaths morta- 
regd. lity regd. lity  regd. tility  regd. lity 


rate rate rate rate 
Malaysians ... 784 143.25 805 8640 855 85.46 722 69.01 


Chinese ... 2,671 79.43 1,520 32.86 1,630 35.29 1,354 29.56 


Indians and 
akistanis ... 236 76.45 200 39.84 206 40.27 151 29.77 


Eurasians ... 28 77.99 . 10 27.78 16 44.20 4 11.73 
Europeans... 18 57.69 3 8.45 5 14.79 3 10.49 
Others 3 14 75.68 19 42.99 21 43.30 15 29.88 


Total ... 3,758* 87.30 2,557 41.40 2,733 43.73 2,249 36.00 


* Includes 7 of unknown race. 


HEALTH 283 


MEDICAL STAFF 


The demand for governmental medical facilities continued to 
increase beyond expectation especially in the second half of the 
year. For instance, average attendance at out-patient clinics rose 
from 5,800 per day in the first half of the year to nearly 8,000 per 
day in the second half. The position in respect of various categories 
of established medical posts is given in Table V. 


Table V 
MEDICAL STAFF 
19 5 7 


Superscale Su 
. Superscale Senior Medical 
restectind Specialists Registrars Officers Housemen 


Approved establishment 8 38 29 176 $0 
Posts filled substantively 5 17 13 171 33 
Posts filled in an acting capacity 2 6 — pn — 
Posts vacant 1 15 16 5 17 
19 5 8 
Superscale s 
: uperscale Senior Medical 
probe Specialists Registrars Officers Housemen 
Approved establishment 8 40 30 211 50 
Posts filled substantively ... wdeg 6 22 19 196 48 
Posts filled in an acting capacity 2 8 — — — 
Posts vacant... aes _e — 10 11 15 2 
19 5 9 
Superscale Su 
raat iperscale Senior Medical 
eee Specialists Registrars Officers Housemen 
Approved establishment ... a 9 40 30 224 $0 
Posts filled substantively... Say 3 12 12 204 27 
Posts filled in an acting capacity sos 6 21 — _— — 
Posts vacant... «at als —_ 7 18 20 23 


The pressure for services threw a considerable strain on the 
medical and nursing staff. 

Seven senior medical personnel retired from the service during 
1959, two of these under the Malayanisation Scheme. Among the 
officers who retired during 1959 were the Permanent Secretary to 


284 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


the Ministry of Health and Director of Medical Services, the 
Deputy Permanent Secretary to the Ministry and Deputy Director 
of Medical Services, the Assistant Director of Medical Services 
(Tuberculosis), and the Senior Pathologist. 

_ The position regarding specialist staff shows much improvement. 
Many medical officers have completed their overseas post-graduate 
training and experience and are returning to Singapore. This has 
resulted in certain specialised branches having a full complement 
of specialist staff of local officers—e.g. ophthalmology, radio- 
therapy, psychiatry, tuberculosis, etc. 

The shortage of personnel in the grade of general duty medical 
officers and in certain specialities is being met by the Government’s 
policy to recruit overseas doctors on a short-term basis to tide over 
the present shortage. At the same time, the long term needs of the 
Ministry were examined and it has been decided to send 80-120 
students overseas for basic medical education under the Colombo 
Plan and other internationally aided training facilities. 

Training programmes have been maintained and expanded and 
officers continue to be sent abroad throughout the year so that 
future needs of the expanding service were met. 

At the beginning of 1959, 26 medical officers and 2 dental officers 
were undergoing post-graduate training overseas and during the 
course of the year, a further 14 medical officers and 3 dental officers 
proceeded overseas on study awards. Twenty medical officers and 
2 dental officers returned, 17 of which having successfully com- 
pleted the courses of study. These officers have acquired qualifica- 
tions in various medical specialities including anesthetic, surgery, 
ophthalmology, general medicine, mental diseases, radiology, radio- 
therapy, chest diseases and pediatrics. 

Study courses were awarded to 45 medical and dental officers 
during the year. Of this number, five officers received study awards 
under the Colombo Plan, two officers received W.H.O. Fellowships, 
three officers were sponsored by the Sino-British Trust Fellowship. 
Three officers were granted no-pay leave to proceed overseas on 
study. 

Local training programmes have been stepped up and increased 
assistance has been received from International agencies—partic- 
ularly the World Health Organisation. 

During the year 61 doctors, 28 dentists, and 13 pharmacists 
graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. The 


Faculty accepted 115 students for medicine, 28 for dentistry and 
16 for pharmacy. 


‘jeydsoH sIpedoyWO s,MoaIpUY “JG 94} O} JISIA & SULINP UMOYS ‘WIYeIg] UIq peWYY syouy ‘YyyeoP] JO} JOIsIUIP OU] 


aanyjn fo "ur 





Min. of Culture 


For the first time, candi- 
dates from the Chinese 
Senior Middle III classes 
were recruited for Gen- 
eral Nurse training 
and Chinese Senior 
Middle II and Standard 
VII Malay students 
for Assistant Nursing 
and Midwifery training 
alongside their English- 
educated colleagues. 


Top—Picture shows new 

recruits receiving prac- 

tical training at the 
General Hospital. 


Travelling Dispensaries 
are one of the main 
features of the Singa- 
pore Health Services. 
They visit the outlying 
rural areas and provide 
free medical treatment 
and medicines. 


Left—A Travelling Dis- 
pensary during one of 
its visits. 





HEALTH 285 


Under the Colombo Plan, the Royal Australasian College of 
Surgeons again conducted the Primary Examination for their 
Fellowship in Singapore in April 1959. A preparatory study course, 
conducted by the Australian lecturers prepared 22 doctors for the 
Primary Examination, six of whom were from the Medical Depart- 
ment, Singapore. Of a total 25 who sat for the Primary Examina- 
tion, six were successful of whom three were Singapore Govern- 
ment officers. 


INSTITUTE OF HEALTH 


This was the second year of operation of the Institute of 
Health. It continued to serve as a centre for the practice and teach- 
ing of public health. Courses for the Diploma in Public Health, 
Health Visitors for School Nurses and Public Health Inspectors 
were conducted at the Institute of Health. Six doctors from Malaya, 
Hong Kong, Korea, Japan and New Guinea attended the course 
for the Diploma of Public Health from the Western Pacific Region; 
22 Public Health Inspectors attended their course from Singapore, 
Federation of Malaya and the Borneo territories; 12 Public Health 
Nurses from Singapore attended their Health Visitors Course. In 
addition, the expanding preventive service was operated providing 
full maternal and child health care, for a population of nearly 
50,000 and expanding care for the school children of Singapore. 

Plans to develop training facilities for public dental nurses and 
dental technicians at the Institute of Health were drawn up during 
the year. | 


TRAINING OF NURSING AND ANCILLARY PERSONNEL 


For the first time, candidates from the Chinese Senior Middle 
III classes were recruited for General Nurse training and Chinese 
Senior Middle II and Standard VII Malay students were recruited 
for Assistant Nursing and Midwifery training alongside their 
English-educated colleagues. Lessons in English for the Chinese- 
speaking trainees were given in the first four months of train- 
ing by teachers seconded from Ministry of Education, to facilitate 
technical instruction in the English medium. 

A shortage of Sister Tutors made it difficult for training pro- 
grammes to be fully implemented. Difficulties were added to by 
the lack of appointments to posts of Sisters. The service has been 
maintained but nevertheless strained by sharing out the additional 
burden among existing staff. 


286 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


There were 452 nurses in training in the Nursing School at 
General Hospital at the beginning of the year, 135 additional 
student nurses (male and female) were recruited into the service. 
A total of 118 nurses (104 females and 14 males) qualified. Sixty- 
four obtained the certificate in midwifery. 

143 Assistant Nurses were in training at the Assistant Nurse 
Training School at Tan Tock Seng Hospital; 92 students were 
admitted during the year. The course of training was extended to 
two years and four months to include experience in surgery. Fifty- 
two qualified during the year. 

Eleven nurses obtained the Certificate in Psychiatric Nursing at 
Woodbridge Hospital. Twelve nurses undertook the Health Visitors 
Course early in 1959 and will be taking the Royal Society of 
Health final examination in April 1960. A course in Pediatric 
Nursing was instituted in the Mistri (Children’s Unit) Wing of the 
General Hospital. 

Of the ancillary staff, eight Pupil Almoners are undergoing train- 
ing at the University of Malaya in Social Studies part II (Almoner’s 
Study). Four have completed their course successfully. Nine Pupil 
Physiotherapists, 10 Pupil Radiographers, three Pupil Occupational 
Therapists are under training overseas. One Physiotherapist and 
two Occupational Therapists returned after having successfully 
concluded their courses. . 

One officer qualified as a Pharmaceutical Chemist and another 
is under training overseas for this qualification. 

Altogether 48 nurses and ancillary personnel were abroad for 
training of which 17 returned having acquired special experience 
in various branches in nursing, medical records and blood trans- 
fusion. Fifteen nurses were granted no-pay leave to take post- 
graduate courses abroad. 


Sanitary Inspectors 

Courses of training for the Royal Society of Health continued 
to be given at the Institute of Health. Twenty Sanitary Inspectors 
passed the examination for the Public Health Inspectors Diploma 
in October 1959. 


STAFF RELATIONS 


Staff relations throughout the year have been satisfactory. There 
has been very cordial and healthy relationship between unions re- 
presenting various grades of medical employees and the Ministry. 
Regular consultations were held with staff representatives in re- 
lation to all matters of concern to the staff. 


HEALTH . 287 


During the year, new Schemes of Service for various grades of 
Division II and III employees were brought into force and an ex- 
tensive re-organisation was effected with minimum dislocation. 

In this connection, the Minister has laid considerable importance 
to relations with staff unions; he also gave an assurance publicly 
that “on all matters touching upon policy prior discussion would 
be held with the professional bodies”’. 


Table VI 


THE MEDICAL REGISTERS 
(31st December, 1959) 


REGISTERED 


Daciors Den- Female Male ro Mid- _‘Phar- 
tists Nurses Nurses Nupece wives macists 


Government Medical 


Department 24 549 184 189 86 20 
Rural Clinics ae 2 7 71 — 18 82 — 
City Council eae — . 107 20 15 44 1 
University (teaching 

staff) ... See 14 — — — — 3 


Private practice and 
private institutions... 357 281 198 27 49 248 70 


Housemen .. «= 43 — aoe —_ ent a a 
Total ... 680 {326 °925 f131 9271 $460 94 


The above table does not include medical personnel in the Armed Services. 
* There are in addition some 529 student nurses in training. 
ft Includes 26 “‘old time’’ Hospital Assistants. 
t{ This includes 242 registered Division II Dentists. 
§ This figure relates only to Midwives actually practising: nearly all trained 
Nurses have a Midwifery Certificate. 
|| There are in addition 72 Male Nurses in training. 
q There are in addition 200 Assistant Nurses in training. 


FINANCE 


The Ministry and the Rural Board Health Departments are 
financed predominantly from public revenue and the City Health 
Department from the Municipal Fund. A total of $37.5 million 
was expanded on the medical and health services during 1959, com- 
prising $30.7 million by Government and $6.8 million by the City 
Health Department. Revenue from hospital, licence and other 
charges amounted to $1.9 million. A statement on Public Medical 


Finance is on Table VII. 


288 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Table VII 
MINISTRY OF 


PROVISIONAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT 


Receipts 

$ ¢. 
Licence Fees... oe “ine hes es 20,957 53 
Health Branch (Quarantine and other Charges) _... ... 207,901 92 
Medical Stores Sales ie ae ae ... 261,346 56 
Miscellaneous Receipts _... is sks sas 26,581 00 
Hospitals Board (Fees, etc.) ae dice ... 1,345,435 94 
Balance of cost borne by Public Revenue or ... 28,798,594 26 


Total ... 30,660,817 21 


HEALTH 289 


HEALTH 


FOR THE YEAR 1959 


Payments 
$ c 

Personal Emoluments:— 

General... ae wi re ... 2,227,727 36 

Health Branch er - ar ... 1,783,875 10 

Hospitals and Dispensaries one sa ... 14,851,900 07 
Annually Recurrent Expenditure:— 

General ... sp ah ale ... 560,810 09 

Health Branch bait ‘at ges ... 766,430 O1 

Hospitals and Dispensaries ie re ... 7,558,699 64 
Special Expenditure:— 

General... is va det ... 358,063 84 

Health Branch se a Sie se 18,186 23 

Hospitals and Dispensaries ce S .. 277,791 61 

Development and Capital Expenditure fe wes 2,257,333 26 


Total... 30,660,817 21 


288 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 19 


Table VII 
M 


PROVISIONAL FINAN 


Receipts 


Licence Fees 

Health Branch (Quarantine and other Charges) 
Medical Stores Sales 

Miscellaneous Receipts 


Hospitals Board (Fees, etc.) 


i) 


Balance of cost borne by Public Revenue 


Total ... 30,660,81 





\LTH 291 


Mes 


$ Cc. 


453,015 00 
630,493 00 
132,650 00 
1,466,406 00 


136,401 00 
195,086 00 
1,176,024 00 
2,186,854 00 


25,667 00 


86,087 00 


6,488,683 00 


2,895 00 


309,670 00 


—— 


Total ... 6 291,248 00 


— 





290 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 
CITY HEALTH 


Figures for 1959 which have not 


Receipts 
$ c. 
Fees from patients es ee “5 .» 193,710 00 
Balance of cost borne by the City Council Consolidated Rate 
Fund oi sae ~ aoe 6,607,538 00 


Total ... 6,801,248 00 


HEALTH 291 
DEPARTMENT 


yet been finalised and audited. 


Payments 
§ c. 

Personal Emoluments:— 

General... me aan fg ... 453,015 00 

Infectious Diseases Hospital sf an ... 630,493 00 

Anti-Mosquito Measures — ae ... 132,650 00 

Other Public Health Measures _... oe ... 1,466,406 00 
Annually Recurrent Expenditure:— 

General ... eas eek ns hws 136,401 00 

Infectious Diseases Hospital set ace ... 195,086 00 

Anti-Mosquito Measures a aes ... 1,176,024 00 

Other Public Health Measures _... ee ... 2,186,854 00 
Special (Non-Capital) Expenditure:— 

General _... sd ee oes is — 

Infectious Diseases Hospital - or er 25,667 00 

Anti-Mosquito Measures Se es ant — 

Other Public Health Measures _... oie eos 86,087 00 


6,488,683 00 


Special Services (Capital) Expenditure:— 
General... ded = as ae — 
Infectious Diseases Hospital ea che 2,895 00 
Anti-Mosquito Measures Ss es ae — 
Other Public Health Measures _... vad ... 309,670 00 


Total ... 6,801,248 00 


292 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


PREVENTIVE AND SOCIAL MEDICINE 


The pattern of health organisation provided under the Local 
Government Ordinance, 1957, was revised. In order that effective 
expansion and a co-ordinated public health policy could be better 
and more effectively formulated and operated the plan for two 
Local Authorities which were to provide their own Environmental 
Health Services, was dropped. The unification of all preventive 
health services in the State has now been placed under the authority 
of the Minister for Health. 


Health Education 


Considerable emphasis was given to the development of Health 
education. Plans were worked out during the year for a Mass 
Health Education Campaign which will be inaugurated in the new 
year which would cover various aspects of Health education. The 
subjects for which the groundwork was prepared included proper 
nutrition, proper maternal and infant care, tuberculosis and B.C.G. 
vaccination, diphtheria innoculation and family planning. The train- 
ing in Health education for teachers, medical students and para- 
medical personnel was continued during the year. Weekly film 
shows continued to be held in the rural areas. 

The Ministry participated in the Singapore Constitutional Ex- 
position in January 1959, with a display depicting the activities of 
the preventive and curative services. | 

During the National Loyalty Week in December 1959, the Min- 
istry of Health had an elaborate display showing the activities, 
work and function of all its sections including the Department of 
Chemistry. 


School Health Service 


The school population increased to 320,977 compared with 
295,481 at the end of 1958, an increase of over 8.6 per cent. The 
number of schools at the end of 1958 was 718 schools including 94 
private schools. Environmental sanitation in schools continued to 
receive regular attention, particularly in respect of the new schools 
which come under the Government’s grant-in-aid scheme. Up to the 
end of the year, 122,953 pupils were examined. This represents 38.3 
per cent of the school population. During the year, 597 of the 624 
Government and Government-aided schools were inspected by 
School Health officers. 


HEALTH... 293 


The School Health Service operates minor treatment clinics at 
four centres on the Island. 103,734 schoolchildren attended at these 
clinics, an increae of 9 per cent over the previous year. Two school 
mobile dispensaries cater for the needs of children attending rural 
schools. 56,258 children were treated by these travelling dispen- 
Saries. 

During the small-pox outbreak in April, 22,900 children were 
vaccinated. No cases of small-pox occurred among school children. 


Maternal and Child Health Service 


The Maternal and Child Health Service provides ante-natal care 
to expectant mothers, domiciliary confinements and post-natal care 
by trained medical and nursing personnel. The service operates 2 
network of major clinics, visiting centres and midwife stations 
throughout the City and rural areas. Altogether, there are 27 main 
clinics, (7 in the City and 20 in the rural districts), 22 Visiting Cen- 
tres and 8 Village Midwife Centres. Ante-natal and post-natal ser- 
vices are conducted in the main clinics daily and on a sessional 
basis in the Visiting centres. Domiciliary midwifery services operate 
from the main clinics and village midwife centres, where resident 
midwives are accommodated. The clinics and centres in the rurak 
areas are administered by Government, and those in the City by the 
City Health Department. A total of 8,316 confinements were attend- 
ed by the Domiciliary Midwifery Service—7,021 in the rural dis- 
tricts and 1,295 in the City. 

Facilities for the care of infants in these clinics have been 
extended to children up to school-entering age. Treatment for 
minor ailments was also provided. Immunisation against diph- 
theria, whooping cough, tetanus and small-pox were intensified 
during the year. Over 30,000 complete diphtheria immunisations 
were done in both city and rural district clinics. Mobile anti- 
diphtheria immunisation teams visited villages off the main roads 
to bring the service to the remote parts of the Island. 7,000 B.C.G. 
vaccinations against tuberculosis were given to new-born infants. 

During the outbreak of small-pox, the facilities of the clinics 
were utilised to conduct the mass vaccination campaign. 


Social Diseases 


Treatment and control of venereal disease was carried out at 
Middle Road Hospital. The progressive drop in the incidence of 
venereal disease cases has been maintained; it has dropped from 
10,460 in 1949 to 4,835 in 1959 due to improved treatment facilities 
and intensive case-finding programme. — 





294 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Out of 37,600 new cases seen, some 11,000 were skin cases. 

Two travelling dispensaries follow a regular schedule and visit 
the rural areas. One of these dispensaries visits Rural Maternal and 
Child Health Centres and carries out ante-natal examination of 
pregnant mothers. A total of 12,863 cases were investigated and 
treated by both these dispensaries. In accordance with the Brussels 
Agreement of 1927, Singapore provides free diagnosis and treat- 
ment for seamen; 1,157 seamen availed of this facility in 1959. 


Mental Health 

Woodbridge Hospital situated on the outskirts of the City is the 
centre of the Medical Health Service. The hospital has a total bed- 
strength of 2,040 beds. During the year, 2,043 patients were ad- 
mitted to the hospital and 1,842 were discharged. 
- The work of four Psychiatric Out-patient Clinics, holding six 
sessions per week continued to be popular both for consultation 
by patients and for follow-up of discharged patients. 

The latter half of the year was a period of intensive re-organisa- 
tion at the hospital. The hospital is being organised on the unit 
system and provision for two Psychiatric Units is being made. 


Aedes Control at the International Airport 


The Aedes Control programme at the International Airport con- 
tinued. A small health team ensures control with 880 metres from 
the Airport perimeter fence. Rigorous surveys ensure that control is 
carried out satisfactorily. The Aedes Aegyptii index was nil on 
each of the four major surveys carried out at the end of each 
quarter. 7 


Food and Drug Control 

The control of the manufacture, storage, preparation and sale 
of food and drugs is exercised under Food and Drugs Ordinance 
and regulations made thereunder. During the year more than 82,000 
Ib. of unsound foodstuff was destroyed. Regular sampling of im- 
ported foods and foods exhibited for sale was carried both in the 
city and rural areas. 


Outbreak of Food Poisoning from Contaminated Barley 

An outbreak of accidental ‘parathion’ poisoning due to contami- 
nation of barley in Singapore occurred in September 1959 when 35 
children and three adults were affected and nine children died. The 


HEALTH | 295 


outbreak was traced to certain bags of loose pearl barley imported 
from Western Europe on 22nd August by a cargo-boat and had be- 
come contaminated with parathion, a prohibited insecticide not 
available in Singapore. Two consignments of 400 bags in all were 
suspected and extensive investigations enabled most of this to be 
traced both in Singapore and Federation of Malaya and Borneo 
territories. All ‘barley from the suspected consignments was 
destroyed. 

Close collaboration with the Chemists was maintained and they 
were responsible for the isolation of the toxic agent, parathion. 
Immediate control measures by wide publicity, intensive field in- 
vestigations and rapid transmission of information to neighbouring 
territories prevented the occurrence of additional cases and the out- 
break was promptly ended by means of co-ordination between 
hospital, field workers and chemists. 


Quarantine Service 


Large number of passengers, ships and air crews passed through 
Singapore. On account of its central geographical position, port 
and airport health control are an essential safeguard to prevent the 
entry of exotic diseases into the State. 


1957 1958 1959 

Ships arriving from infected or suspect- 
ed ports “ee ci a 1,519 2,030 2,206 
Sea passengers inspected ... _ ... 101,182 136,226 168,914 

Aircraft arriving from infected or 
suspected ports ae Bae 1,707 2,438 2,188 
Air passengers and crews inspected ... 82,166 94,718 94,718 
Passengers quarantined... ce 24,175 14,421 12,479 


ENDEMIC AND EPIDEMIC DISEASES 


Malaria 


Singapore has maintained freedom from indigenous malaria on 
the main Island and the remaining islands for the third year in 
succession. Some 40 cases of malaria were reported but on investi- 
gation all of them were proved to be imported cases. 

This brings home the point that while malaria has in fact been 
eradicted from Singapore, its introduction could take place if the 
vigilance of the health authorities was relaxed. 


296 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Small-pox 

A minor outbreak of small-pox occurred in April 1959. The 
primary case of this outbreak was an 11-year-old Indian boy who 
arrived at Penang on the State of Madras from Madras on 15th 
March, 1959. Although this boy was the primary case, he was 
not discovered until the secondary case was admitted to hospital 
and confirmed nearly a month later. The first secondary case was 
a case of suspected small-pox in a 29-year-old Malay woman who 
lived a short distance from the house where the primary case had 
occurred. All the ten cases except one occurred in a localised area 
known as Kampong Alexandra; of the ten cases two died, one 
an unvaccinated infant. 

The control of the disease was due to the prompt and effective 
action taken by the health authorities. The principal measures of 
case-finding and isolation promptly carried out in the local area 
followed by contact tracing and quarantine of these contacts helped 
to localise the outbreak. 244 contacts were isolated for 14 days at 
the Quarantine Station. 11,038 persons were compulsorily vaccinat- 
ed in the local affected area. A mass vaccination campaign through- 
out the Island was carried out and 1.1 million vaccinations were 
carried out in this campaign over a period of four weeks. 


Diphtheria 

During the year 519 cases of diphtheria were admitted into the 
Infectious Diseases Hospital (Middleton Hospital). There were 23 
deaths with a mortality of 4.43 per cent. As in previous years the 
incidence was highest in children under five years. Forty-four cases 
required relief from respiratory distress by Tracheotomy operation. 
528 cases of diphtheria carriers were also discovered. 


Tuberculosis 

Tuberculosis remains the major health problem in Singapore. In 
the efforts to control the disease, the Quarantine and Prevention of 
Diseases Ordinance was amended to provide for the compulsory 
notification of tuberculosis to the A.D.M.S. (Tuberculosis) and for 
the establishment of a Tuberculosis Registry. The amended Ordin- 
ance came into force on Ist August, 1958. 

Administratively, a Tuberculosis Control Unit was set up at 
the Tan Tock Seng Hospital in 1958 and was in full operation in 
1959. The Unit maintains the Central Tuberculosis Registry and 
conducts epidemiologic studies of the disease. The Control Unit 
operates contact and surveillance teams for the investigation of 


HEALTH 297 


cases reported and the surveillance of tuberculosis patients. Health 
Visitors pay domiciliary visits to homes of patients and investigate 
environmental conditions, advise on health care and a follow-up 
care of patients under out-patient treatment. 

Arrangements are being made to bring Tan Tock Seng Hospital 
under direct administrative control of Government and draft legis- 
lation for the take-over of the Hospital Corporation has been pre- 
pared. 

Towards the end of 1958, under the Colombo Plan assistance, 
a team of Australian experts led by Dr. Harvey and Dr. Rubenstein 
conducted a pilot survey of the population in the urban and rural 
areas. Altogether, over 50,000 persons were X-ray examined and 
investigated. 

During the year, X-ray surveys were made on Government em- 
ployees in the Postal, Police, P.W.D. quarry workers, and Custom 
departments. 

The immunisation programme against tuberculosis was intensi- 
fied. 96 per cent or 28,283 new-born infants at Kandang Kerbau 
Hospital were vaccinated with B.C.G. vaccination against tuber- 
culosis is also being done in the Maternity and Child Health clinics 
both the city and rural areas. Approximately 10,000 babies under 
the age of one year were vaccinated in these clinics during 1959. 

At the same time a school tuberculosis team, operating with 
the school health service, X-rayed 14,606 school children, teachers, 
school servants and hawkers supplying food to schools. 1,115 
school children were discovered to be suffering from active tuber- 
culosis. Altogether 701 schools were surveyed in 1959; 60,577 
tuberculin tests and 19,340 B.C.G. vaccinations were done. 

The mortality rate of all forms of tuberculosis has fallen from 
51.9 per 100,000 persons in 1957, 41.2 in 1958 to 39.1 in 1959. 


HOSPITAL, CLINICS, AND OTHER CURATIVE SERVICES 


General Hospital 


General Hospital remains the major hospital in Singapore for 
the treatment of acute medical and surgical conditions. The bed 
strength was increased by the addition of 40 beds for the special 
treatment of burns bringing the total to 1,231 beds. During the year, 
the admissions to the hospital totalled 39,918 compared with 
36,852 in 1958. 


298 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


A block of quarters for the accommodation of 78 Sisters and 
Matrons, and the hostel for the accommodation of 60 housemen 
were completed. A unit of 40 beds for the special treatment of 
burns was put into operation at the beginning of the year. 


Table VIII 


MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS, 1959 


Government and City Council Hospitals Beds Doctors Dentists 


General Hospital Se .» 1,231 


Maternity Hospital (K.K.H. 1) cexclucing 
infant cots) .. 


T.B. Hospital (Tan Tock Seng) ... 1,144 
Infectious Diseases Hospital (Middleton) 250 
Orthopaedic Hospital (St. Andrew’s) .... 120 
Leper Settlement (Trafalgar Home) ... 1,023 
Mental Hospital (Woodbridge) .. 1,869 
Mental Defective Hospital ee 80 
Veneral Disease Hospital (excluding Eot) 

Middle Road Hospital ... 
Prisons Hospitals es --- 160 
Opium reeteat ones: Nae sonn 

Island) 20 
Police cai School Hospital o 20 
Thomson Road Hospital ... .-- 396 


Private Hospitals 


Youngberg Hospital Pee wee 67 
Gleneagles Hospital ee 90 
St. Andrew’s Mission Hospital (children) 60 
Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital ... 445 
Red Cross Cripples Home 40 
Cheshire Home 40 


Government Out-patient Institutions 
General Out-Patient Services oe. oo 


School Medical Service _... a = 
Maternity and Child Health Services ... — 


Voluntary Out-patient Institutions 
(other than those attached to Hospitals) 


Royal Singapore leachate Aan 
ciation — 


NY NY WYO mh = & 


13 
11 


— 33 


Nursing Admis- sash atient 
Staff 


tten- 
sions lances 


39,918 1,514,278 


44,436 273,467 
3,362 384,826 


3,451 — 
144 — 
376 =: 117,831 

2,043 5,152 

43 — 


1,349 218,270 
2,163 60,789 


448 907 
398 9,625 
16 27 
2,068 34,275 
391 107 


1,133 51,062 
1,198 28,918 
22 — 

39 — 


— 2,390,841 
— 103,734 
—_ 293,732 


—_ 293,593 


HEALTH 299 


Table IX 
DEATHS REGISTERED IN 1959 BY CAUSE 
Rate per 1,000 


Cause Number Population 
Milaria and Unspecified Fever... a 262 0.166 
Violence (all forms)... - _ 628 0.398 
Beri-beri_... ot be Se 61 0.039 
Senility... ei se se 950 0.601 
Pulmonary Tuberculosis ee see 577 0.365 
H:art Diseases Sis ae ge 738 0.467 
Diseases of the Circulatory System Gee 228 0.144 
Diseases of Pregnancy, Child Birth and the puer- 
peral state ee ah aie 45 0.028 
Premature births and diseases of early infancy ... 710 0.449 
Convulsions os wa ae 231 0.146 
Diseases of the respiratory system excludin 
tuberculosis and influenza es as 1,414 0.895 
Typhoid, Dysentery, Diarrhoea, and Enteritis 659 0.417 
Other Diseases of the Digestive System me 342 0.217 
Tuberculosis other than respiratory system... 51 0.032 
Diseases of the genito-urinary system ci 293 0.185 
Diseases of the nervous system... be 738 0.467 
Influenza and Acute Rheumatism eh 42 0.027 
Cancer .... see be ian 1,055 0.668 
Others ee “ai ae ce 1,222 0.774 
Total ... 10,246 6.486 


Kandang Kerbau Hospital 


This hospital has conducted on an average 92.08 deliveries per 
day in 1959 on a bed strength of 276 obstetric beds. An additional 
40 beds are utilised for gynecological cases. Altogether 44,436 
patients were admitted to the hospital during the year, of which 
6,775 were gynecological cases. 35,406 deliveries were conducted 
and the total attendances at the out-patient unit providing ante- 
natal, post-natal and gynecological care amounted to 124,200. 

The hospital underwent a major staff and administrative re- 
organisation in June and specific Ministerial directives were given 
to ensure that despite overcrowding, conditions for deliveries 
should be improved; additional temporary beds were provided 
above the approved basic strength to meet this need. 


300 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Trafalgar (Leprosy) Home 

Trafalgar Home is the institution for the treatment of leprosy 
patients and has accommodation for 1,000 patients. During the 
year, the average number of patients was 864; there were 376 new 
patients admitted and 346 patients were discharged; 22 absconsions 
also took place. 

Trafalgar Home serves as an isolation centre for infectious cases 
and a rehabilitation centre for recovering patients. Occupational 
therapy in various forms is available to patients. The hospital has 
its farm on which recovering and recovered patients are settled. 
It provides active treatment with the sulphone and other more re- 
cent anti-leprosy drugs. A follow-up surveillance and treatment 
clinic is operated for surveillance and treatment of leprosy out- 
patients. There were 17,831 out-patient attendances to this clinic. 

A major feature during the second half of the year was the firm 
measures taken against irregular practices among inmates—vice, 
gambling and secret society activities which were firmly dealt with; 
conditions were made generally satisfactory to the patients. 


Thomson Road Hospital 


This Hospital, though formally opened in May 1959, was not 
ready for the admission of patients until November 1959. 

The hospital serves as a district hospital and plans were put in 
hand to provide surgical theatres and ancillary services; these were 
left out of the original plan (for a Chronic Hospital). The hospital 
is expected to be a fully functioning district hospital in 1960. 


Out-patient Services 


This service is responsible for all the static and mobile out- 
patient clinics throughout the Island. Under the Supervisor of the 
services are also certain specialised out-patient clinics for the 
Police, prisoners, and other special groups. A total of 2,161,042 
patients were seen by the out-patient services and of these 574,518 
were new cases. There was nearly 40 per cent increase over the 
figures for the previous year, compared with 24 per cent over 
1957/1958. New out-patient clinics completed and functioning dur- 
ing the year were at Pegu Road and at Bukit Panjang. Plans for 
new clinics were completed for clinics at Still Road, Jalan Kayu 
and Bukit Panjang. 


HEALTH 301 


The pressure for medical care in this service increased urgently 
in the second half of the year and called for urgent attention. 
Extensions were carried out to the main out-patient unit at General 
Hospital and with improved physical arrangements and an effective 
deployment of medical staff, it was possible to cope with the in- 
creased pressure. 


Opium Treatment Centre 


This Centre which is situated on St. John’s Island was estab- 
lished in 1955. It continued during the year when there were 489 
patients admitted for treatment including 36 volunteer patients. 
The Opium Treatment Advisory Committee investigated 1,082 per- 
sons suspected of being addicts for suitable treatment. 

The follow-up clinic for rehabilitation opium addicts enjoyed the 
confidence of discharged patients and 710 visits were made by 
discharged patients to this clinic. 


BLOOD TRANSFUSION 


In November a major campaign to get 12,000 blood donors in 
the register was launched. The campaign was carried out with the 
full awareness that the success of the Blood Bank in meeting the 
medical needs of the hospitals depended on extensive voluntary 
co-operation. For this purpose considerable and uphill task was 
encountered in breaking down old established prejudice regarding 
‘blood withdrawal’. Although the target figure was not achieved, 
in fact, over 7,000 persons were registered. The question of getting 
a satisfactory list of donors was a long term one which would have 
to be sustained from time to time. 

A total of 11,602 donations were received at the Blood Bank, 
of which only 2,836 came from relatives of patients. 11,299 trans- 
fusions were given during the year. 


DENTAL HEALTH 


During 1959 there were 328 dentists practising in the State. The 
number of qualified dental surgeons was 90, and of this group, 
40 were private practitioners, 38 were in Government Service, and 
11 were teaching in the University. 

The Public Dental Services provided emergency and specialist 
dental treatment at the General Hospital, dental care to the chronic 
sick, to expectant and nursing mothers and to school children. 


302 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


There were 85,399 attendances in school dental clinics during 1959. 
The main problem was the building up of an adequate dental service 
for the large and increasing number of school children in Singa- 
pore. Development of the school dental service would have to be 
phased and would depend on the availability of funds and trained 
dental personnel. However, during the year a decisive step forward 
was taken when the Ministry of Health initiated action for the 
establishment of a Dental Nurses Training School in Singapore. 
Increasing numbers of dental nurses would be trained to perform 
simple routine dental operations under the supervision of qualified 
dental officer, and in this way a sufficient number of trained dental 
personnel would be made available to start the new school dental 
clinics throughout the State. . 

In the field of preventive dentistry 1959 marked the second year 
of complete fluoridation of the municipal water supply on the 
island. This public health measure was first completed in 1958 
and was aimed at the reduction of dental decay by about 50 per 
cent among all the young children within the next six years. 


GOVERNMENT MEDICAL STORES AND 
PHARMACEUTICAL LABORATORIES 


The Government Medical Stores and Pharmaceutical Labora- 
tories, situated at Silat Road, manufacture a wide range of 
medicines for issue to patients in all Government hospitals and 
Clinics. Over three-quarter million dollars worth of products were 
manufactured in 1959. The table below gives the production figures 
of the main items: 


PRODUCTION 
Percentage 
1958 1959 lnchease 

Tablets abe ... 34,000,000 90,000,000 66 
Injections (amps. & vials) 550,000 610,000 11 
Transfusion Solutions, 540 

c.c. bottles ... jad 70,000 104,000 48 
Galenicals:— Mixtures, 

Emulsions, Creams, Oint- 

ments, Tinctures, etc. ... 300,000 Ib. 400,000 Ib. 33 


Pessaries and Suppositories 30,000 60,000 100 


HEALTH 303 


The increased out-patient attendances in hospitals and clinics 
and consequent increase in demand, was met by increased 
production. 

Modern special equipment and machinary, including Rotary 
Tablet Machines, Stills, Automatic Filling and Sealing Machines 
are used in the production of medicines. 

It is proposed to expand production by another 50 per cent 
over the next five years. The aim is to pre-pack most items in 
standard containers ready for issue to patients. Issue of prepacked 
medicines would cut down waiting time of patients at dispensaries. 
In addition to manufacturing activities, the Pharmaceutical 
Laboratory and Store acts as buying agents for the Ministry and 
handles orders for surgical equipment, furniture and laboratory 
chemicals for schools. The total value of items on order and in 
stock is estimated at $2.5 million dollars. 


VOLUNTARY AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS 


St. Andrew’s Mission Hospital 


This hospital has 60 beds for children and during the year 
admitted 1,133 patients. Outpatients treated during the year was 
51,062. 


Kwong Wai Shiu Free Hospital 


This hospital has 445 beds and during the year 1,198 patients 
were admitted. Outpatient attendances were 28,918. 


Other Hospitals 


Besides the Youngberg Memorial Hospital, the Hainanese 
Hospital and the Kheh Hospital provide limited beds and medical 
care facilities. The Red Cross Cripples Home and Cheshire Home 
provide care for a limited number of cases. 

During the year, a new private hospital, the Gleneagles Hospital 
consisting of 90 beds was opened. 


Royal Singapore Tuberculosis Clinic 


The past year has been another busy year for the voluntary 
organisation. Clinic has no accommodation for inpatients and 
during the year a total of 293,593 outpatient attendances were 
recorded. 


304 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 


The Ministry gave high priority to the formulation of a 5-year 
development plan and for this purpose a Planning Committee was 
established. The Planning Committee would co-ordinate the various 
requests from Institutions and Branches. One of the aims was to 
regionalise the service and to integrate the Curative and Preventive 
services Offered at centres. It was expected that such co-ordinate 
development would ensure the provision of maximum services with 
the funds available. Plans for the utilisation of Community Centres 
for public medical care was considered in co-operation with the 
Minister for Labour and Law; the first of these centres will be at 
the Lim Ah Pin Community Centre. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


HE BIBLIOGRAPHY below is intended only as a guide to 
the more important books and articles which are in print or are 
available in libraries. For a more comprehensive list, please refer 
to the Bibliography of Malaya: being a classified list of books 
wholly or partly in English relating to the Federation of Malaya 
and Singapore; edited by H. R. Cheeseman; published for the 
British Association of Malaya by Longmans, Green & Co., 1959. 
With regard to the laws of the State of Singapore, they are 
published in the weekly Government Gazette Supplement and again 
in the annual Supplement to the Laws of the State of Singapore. 
Papers presented to the Legislative Assembly, the Proceedings of 
the Legislative Assembly and many other official documents are 
published separately. Nearly all departments of the Government 
and of the City Council and also the Rural Board, the Singapore 
Improvement Trust, the Singapore Harbour Board and the Singa- 
pore Telephone Board publish annual reports. Government publica- 
tions may be obtained from the Government Publications Bureau, 
Fullerton Building, Singapore 1. 


GENERAL AND HISTORICAL 


ANDERSON, P. Snake Wine: a Singapore episode. Chatto and Windus, 1955. 
Illustrated. 
An ebullient account of the experiences of a university teacher. 
BARTLETT, VERNON. Report from Malaya. Verschoyle, 1954. Illustrated. 
An account of the emergency in Malaya. 


BEAMISH, T. The Arts of Malaya. Singapore, Donald Moore, 1954. 
BRADDELL, R. The Lights of Singapore, 6th ed. Methuen, 1947. 
BRITTON, N. P. East of the Sun. Blackwood, 1956. 


By the wife of an R.A.F. officer, describing her stay in post-war Singapore. 

Buss, CLaupE A. Southeast Asia and the world today. Princeton, New 
Jersey, Van Nostrand, 1958. Map, table, bibliography. 

ComMBER, LEON. Chinese Ancestor Worship in Malaya. Singapore, Donald 
Moore, 1954. 

COMBER, LEON. Chinese Magic and Superstitions in Malaya. Singapore, 
Donald Moore, 1955. 

CoMBER, LEON. Chinese secret societies in Malaya: a survey of the Triad 
Society from 1800 to 1900. New York, Augustin, 1959. Illustrated, 
maps, tables, bibliography. (Monographs of the Association for Asian 
studies, vi.). 

CoMBER, LEON. An Introduction to Chinese Secret Societies in Malaya. 
Singapore, Donald Moore, 1957. 


306 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


ComBER, LEON. Chinese Temples in Singapore. Eastern Universities Press, 
1958. Illustrated bibliography. 


COUPLAND, R. Raffles of Singapore. Collins, 1946. Illustrated. 


CRAWFORD, O. The Door Marked Malaya. Hart-Davis, 1958. 
The experiences in Malaya and Singapore, 1954-5, of an officer m the Somerset 
Light Infantry. 

DARTFORD, G. P. A Short History of Malaya. Longmans, 1956. 

DaviEs, DONALD. Old Singapore. Singapore, Donald Moore, 1954. 

DaviEs, DONALD. More Old Singapore. Singapore, Donald Moore, 1956. 


Dossy, E. H. G. Malaya and South-East Asia. New ed. University of 
London Press, 1949. 
A geography text-book. 


Dossy, E. H. G. South-East Asia. University of London Press, 1950. 


Doccett, Marjorie. Characters of Light: a Guide to the Buildings of 
Singapore. Singapore, Donald Moore, 1957. 
Photographs and descriptions of historic buildings. 


ExiorT, A. J. A. Chinese Spirit-medium Cults in Singapore. London School 


of Economics and Political Science, Department of Anthropology, 1955. 
Illustrated, table. 


EpPTON, Nina. The Golden Sword, being the dramatized story of Sir Thomas 
Stamford Raffles. Oldbourne, 1957. 


FREEDMAN, MAURICE F. Chinese Family and Marriage in Singapore. London, 
H.M.S.O., 1957. Illustrated. 


Grisson-Hitt, C. A. The Early History of Christmas Island in the Indian 


Ocean. In Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 
Vol. 22, 1949. Bibliography. 


GINSBURG, N., and Roserts, C. F. Malaya. University of Washington 
Press, 1958. Illustrated, maps, bibliography. 
A description and analysis, prepared for the American Ethnological Society of 
Malaya (including Singapore), since the date of the Federation’s independence. 
GULLICK, J. M. Indigenous political systems of Western Malaya. University 
of London, Athlone Press, 1958. Maps, diagrams, bibliography. 


HAut, D. G. E. A History of South-East Asia. Macmillan, 1955. Illustrated, 
maps, bibliography. 


Hancock, T. H. H., and Gispson-HILi, C. A. Architecture in Singapore. 
i Journal of the Institute of Architects of Malaya, Vol. 4, 1954. 
ustrate 


Notes on Singapore’s principal nore and recent buildings by T. H. H. Hancock, 
illustrated with photographs by C. A. Gibson-Hill. 


HAWKINS, G., and GIBSON-HILL, C. A. Malaya. Singapore Government 
Printer, 1952. Illustrated. 
A short descriptive suey of Singapore and the Federation of Malaya illustrated 
with photographs by C. A. Gibson-Hill. 
Hopper, B. W. Man in Malaya. University of London Press, 1959. 
Illustrated, maps, tables, diagrams, bibliography. 


Lim, JANET CuHIu MEI. Sold for Silver: an autobiography. Collins, 1958. 
The story of a Chinese girl who was sold as a child, brought up and educated 
by Christian missionaries and was matron of St. Andrew’s Hospital, Singapore. 


Lo, DoroTHy, and COMBER, LEON. Chinese Festivals in Malaya. English 
Universities Press, 1958. Illustrated, bibliography. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 307 


McDOUGALL, C. Buddhism in Malaya. Singapore, Donald Moore, 1956. 
MAKEPEACE, W., and others eds. One Hundred Years of Singapore. 2v. 
Murray, 1921. 


MALAY MAIL. Progress: a review of Malaya’s first year of independence, 
1958. Kuala Lumpur, Malay Mail Press, 1959. 


Marcus, A. DRUMMOND. History of the Presbyterian Church in Malaya. 
Presbyterian Historical Society of England, 1955. 

MENDE, TrBoR. South-East Asia between Two Worlds. Turnstile Press, 1955. 
Maps. 

MILLER, Harry. Prince and premier: a biography of Tunku Abdul Rahman 
Putra Al-Haj, first Prime Minister of the Federation of Malaya. 
London, Harrap/Singapore, Donald Moore, 1959. 

Moore, DONALD. We live in Singapore. Hodder & Stoughton, 1955. 
Illustrated. 

Moore, DONALD, ed. Where Monsoons Meet: the story of Malaya in the 
form of an anthology. Harrap, 1956. 

MoorweaD, F. J. A History of Malaya and her Neighbours. Vol. 1, 
Longmans, 1957. 

Morris, MARGERY. A History of Malaya for Schools. University of London 
Press, 1955. 


ONRAET, RENE. Singapore—a Police Background, 1946. 
By a former Inspector-General of Police, including chapters on secret societies, 
Japanese espionage pre-war years and the early activities of the Chinese com- 
munists. 


PARKINSON, C. NORTHCOTE. Britain in the Far East: the Singapore Naval 
Base. Singapore, Donald Moore, 1955. 

PARKINSON, C. NorTHcoTE. A Short History of Malaya. Singapore, Donald 
Moore, 1954. 

PEARSON, H. F. A History of Singapore. University of London Press, 1956. 


PeaRSON, H. F. People of Early Singapore. University of London Press, 
1955. Illustrated. 


PEARSON, H. F. Stories of Early Singapore. University of London Press, 
1953. 

PEARSON, H. F. This Other India: a Biography of Sir Thomas Stamford 
Raffies. Singapore, Eastern Universities Press, 1957. : 


PercivaL, A. E. The War in Malaya. Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1949. 
The Malayan Campaign as seen by the G.O.C. Malaya, in retrospect. 


PURCELL, V. The Chinese in Malaya. Oxford University Press, 1948. 

PURCELL, V. Malaya: Outline of a Colony. Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1946. 

PURCELL, V. The Chinese in Modern Malaya. Singapore, Donald Moore, 
1956. 

PURCELL, V. Malaya: Communist or Free? Gollancz, 1954. 

ROBEQUAIN, CHARLES. Malaya, Indonesia, Borneo and the Philippines. 
Longmans, Green & Co., 1954. Illustrated, maps, diagrams, biblio- 


raphy. 
& P a saphieal: economic and political description, translated from the French. 


ROBINSON, PETER, and HAN SuyIN. See Singapore. Donald Moore, 1954. 
Photographs by Peter Robinson with an explanatory text by Han Suyin. 


308 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


SHEPPARD, M. C. ff. Historic Malaya: an Outline History. Kuala Lumpur, 
Malayan Historical Society, 1956. 


SHEPPARD, M. C. ff. A Short History of Malaya. Kuala Lumpur, Govern- 
ment Printer, 1953. 


Simons, J. E. While History Passed. Heinemann, 1954. Illustrated. 
Life in a Japanese internment camp in World War II by a former member of 
the Australian Army Nursing Service. 
SINGAPORE. Department of Information Services. Travellers’ Guide to Singa- 
pore. Singapore, Department of Information Services, 1957. 


Singapore Street Directory and Guide: Sth ed. Singapore Survey Depart- 
ment, 1958 
Includes historical notes on Singapore’s Buildings and places of interest. 


SONG, Sir ONG SIANG. One Hundred Years’ History of the Chinese in 
Singapore. Murray, 1932. Illustrated. 


A chronological record of the contribution of the Chinese community to the 
development of Singapore from 1819 to 1919. 


Straits Times Annual, 1959. Singapore, Straits Times Press, 1959. 
SWETTENHAM, Sir FRANK. British Malaya. Allen & Unwin, 1948. 


An account of the origin and progress of British influence in Malaya. 


THATCHER, DOROTHY, and Cross, ROBERT. Pai Naa: the story of Nona 
Baker. Constable, 1959. Illustrated, map. 


WINSTEDT, Sir RICHARD. The Malays—a Cultural History. Singapore, Kelly 
& Walsh, 1947: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1950. Illustrated. 


An account of the origins. history, beliefs, traditions and customs of the Penin- 
sular Malays. 


WINSTEDT, Sir RICHARD. Malaya and its History. Hutchinson, 1953. 


WINSTEDT, Sir RICHARD. Malaya: the Straits Settlements, the Federated and 
Unfederated Malay States. Constable, 1923. 


Short description of Singapore and Malaya, with chapters on their physical 
features, peoples, history, fauna, flora, administration, economic products. 


Wu Lien-TeH. Plague fighter: the autobiography of a modern Chinese 
physician. Heffer, 1959. Illustrated, bibliography. 


WURTZBURG, C. E. Raffles of the Eastern Isles. Hodder & Stoughton, 1954. 


POPULATION | 


Det Turo, M. V. A Report on the 1947 Census of Population. Crown 
Agents for the Colonies, 1949. Maps, diagrams. 


Hopper, B. W. Racial Groupings in Singapore. Singapore, Malayan Journal 
of Tropical Geography, Vol. 1, 1953. Maps. 


SMITH, T. B. Population Growth in Malaya. Chatham House, 1951. 


COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND SHIPPING 


ALLEN, D. F. Report on the Major Ports of Malaya. Kuala Lumpur, 
Government Printer, 1951. 
Includes a large section on the port facilities of Singapore. 


ALLEN, G. C. and DONNITHORNE, AUDREY G. Western Enterprise in Indonesia 
and Malaya: a Study in Economic Devolopment. Allen & Unwin, 1957. 


BENHAM, Dr. FREDERIC. The National Income of Malaya, 1947-9 (with a 


note on 1950). Singapore, Government Printer, 1951. 
The first complete assessment of Malayan economy. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 309 


BURDON, T. W. Singapore Fishing Methods. In Journal of the Malayan 
Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 27, 1954. Illustrated. 


BURDON, T. W. The Fishing Industry of Singapore. Singapore, Donald 
Moore, 1955. 


INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT. The Econo- 
mic Development of Malaya: report of a Commission organised by 
the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development at the 
request of the Federation of Malaya, the Crown Colony of Singapore 
a the United Kingdom. Singapore, Government Printer, 1955. Maps, 
tables. 


Lye, F. J. An Industrial Development Programme. 


MACKENZIE, K. E. Malaya: Economic and Commercial Conditions in 
Federation of Malaya and Singapore. H.M. Stationery Office, 1952. 


MILLBOURN, Sir P. Eric, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the 
Port of Singapore. August/September, 1957. 


Morais, J. V. The Leaders of Malaya and Who’s Who, 1957-8. Kuala 
Lumpur, Morais, 1958. 


MuDE, R. F., and others. Report of the Mission of Enquiry into the Rubber 
Industry of Malaya. Kuala Lumpur, Government Printer, 1954. Tables, 
diagrams. 


New York. First National City Bank. Federation of Malaya: a report on 
ee and trade, May 1959. New York, First National City Bank, 
1959. 


PEEL, J. Pulp and paper manufacture in Malaya. Ministry of Agriculture, 
1959. Map, tables. 


Sitcock, T. H. The Commonwealth Economy in Southeast Asia. Cambridge 
University Press, 1959. Bibliography. 


Sitcocx, T. H. The Economy of Malaya. Singapore, Donald Moore, 1954. 
Bibliography. 


THAM AH Kow. The Food and Feeding Relationships of the Fishes of the 
Singapore Straits. London, H.M. Stationery Office. 


Straits Times. Directory of Singapore and Malaya. Singapore, Straits Times 
. ‘Press, 1959. 


Wricut, R. A., and others. Food Supplies for Singapore. Singapore, 
Government Printer, 1951. 
A general survey. 


SOCIAL SERVICES 


Gou Keno Swee. Urban Incomes and Housing. Singapore, Department 
of Social Welfare, 1956. Maps, tables. 
A report on the social survey of Singapore, 1953-4. 
Hicks, E. C., ed. History of English Schools in Perak. Ipoh, Perak Library, 
1958. Illustrated, map. 


KAYE, BARRINGTON. A (Manifesto for Education in Malaya. Singapore, 
Donald Moore, 1955. 
MASON, FREDERIC. The Schools of Malaya. Singapore, Donald Moore, 1954. 
Bibliography. 
_A short survey of the post-war period. 
GAPORE IMPROVEMENT TRUST. Master Plan: a Report of Survey. Singa- 
a “pore, Government Printer, 1955. Illustrated, maps, tables. 


310 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


SINGAPORE IMPROVEMENT TRUST. Master Plan: Reports of Study Groups 
and Working Parties. Singapore, Government Printer, 1955. Illustrated, 
maps, tables. 


SINGAPORE IMPROVEMENT TRUST. Master Plan: Written Statement. Singa- 
pore, Government Printer, 1955. Tables. 


SINGAPORE IMPROVEMENT TrRuST. New Towns Working Party. Queenstown, 
Singapore: final report of New Towns Working Party on the plan for 
Queenstown. Singapore Improvement Trust, 1958. Plans. 


SINGAPORE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. All-Party Committee on Chinese Educa- 
tion, Report. Singapore, Government Printer, 1956. Tables. 


ADMINISTRATION 


EMERSON, RUPERT. Representative Government in South-East Asia, with 
supplementary chapters by Willard H. Elsbree and Virginia Thompson. 
Cambridge, Mass., Harvard U.P./London, Allen & Unwin, 1955S. 


SINGAPORE. COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT. Report of the Committee 
on Local Government. Singapore, Government Printer, 1956. 


PHYSICAL FEATURES AND NATURAL HISTORY 


ALEXANDER, F. E. S. Report on the Availability of Granite in Singapore 
and the Surrounding Islands. Singapore, Government Printer, 1950. 
Ma 

eae recent geological information. 

ALLEN, BETTY MOLESWORTH. Some Common Trees of Malaya. Singapore, 

Eastern Universities Press, 1957. 


CHASEN, F. N. A Hand-list of Malaysian Birds: a Systematic List of the 
Birds of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and Java, including 
the adjacent small islands. Singapore, Government Printer, 1935. Bulle- 
tin of the Raffles Museum, No. 11, December, 1935. 


Corner, E. J. H. Wayside Trees of Malaya. Singapore, Government Printer, 
1940, Reprinted 1952. 


In two volumes, one of text and line drawings, the other of photographic plates. 
This work provides for the identification of nearly a thousand apecies a Malayan 
trees. 


Exiot, J. N. New or Little Known Butterflies from Malaya. British Museum, 
1959. Illustrated, diagrams. 


ELLERMAN, J. R., and Morrison-Scotr, T. C. S. Supplement to Chasen 
(1940). London, British Museum, 1955. 


oo eend-list of Malaysian mammals, containing a generic synonymy and a complete 
index 


GIBSON-HILL, C. A. Singapore. Singapore, Government Printer, 1948. 
An album of twenty-four photographs of typical landscapes. 
GIBSON-HILL, C. A. An Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Malaya. 
Singapore, Bulletin of the Raffles Museum, No. 20, 1949. 
A subsequent paper by the same author (Bull. Raff. Mus. 21, 1950) gives a 
comparable list for Singapore Island only. 
GILLILAND, H. B. Common Malayan Plants. Selected drawings, with notes 
by H. B. Gilliland, Singapore. University of Malaya Press, 1958. 


GLENISTER, A. G. The Birds of the Malay Peninsula, Singapore and Penang. 
Oxford University Press, 1951. Illustrated. 
Brief descriptions with field notes of all the birds on the Annotated Checklist. 
HENDERSON, M. R., and ADDISON, G. H. Malayan Orchid Hybrids. Singa- 
pore, Government Printer, 1956. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 311 


HENDERSON, M. R. Malayan Wild Flowers. Kuala Lumpur, The Malayan 
Nature Society of Singapore, Kelly & Walsh, 1951. Illustrated. 


Hoctrus, R. E. An Introduction to the Study of Malayan Flowers. Revised 
ed. Singapore, Girl Guides Association, 1953 (reprinted 1957). 


HovctruM, R. E. Orchids of Malaya. Singapore, Government Printer, 1953. 
Illustrated. 
Covers all the local hybrids known to date, in addition to the large number of 
wild forms; the first volume in the Revised Flora of Malaya. 
Ho.trum, R. E. Ferns of Malaya. Singapore, Government Printer, 1955. 
Illustrated. 
2nd volume in the Revised Flora of Malaya. Describes nearly 500 species known 
in Malaya. 
Ho.trum, R. E. Gardening in the Lowlands of Malaya. Singapore, Straits 
Times Press, 1953. Illustrated. 


Contains much useful information for the amateur gardener. 


Ho.ttum, R. E. Plant Life in Malaya. Longmans, Green & Co., 1953. 


A students’ introduction. 


Mapoc, G. C. An Introduction to Malayan Birds. Revised ed. Kuala 
Lumpur, Malayan Nature Society, 1956. 


Ma.ayYa. Ministry of Agriculture. Reconnaissance Soil Survey of Trengganu, 
by Wm. P. Panton. Kuala Lumpur, Ministry of Agriculture, 1958. 
Illustrated, maps, tables, bibliography. 


TweebigE, M. W. F. Poisonous Animals of Malaya. Singapore, Malaya 
Publishing House, 1941. 


TWEEDIE, M. W. F. Prehistoric Malaya. Singapore, Donald Moore, 1955. 
Illustrated. 


TWEEDIEE, M. W. F., and HARRISON, J. L. Malayan Animal Life. Longmans, 
Green & Co., 1954. 


An outline of the fauna of Malaya, for the general reader as well as the student 
of natural history. 
Tweepr, M. W. F. The Snakes of Malaya. 2nd ed. Singapore, Government 
Printer, 1957. Illustrated. 


UNITED NATIONS. Food and Agriculture Organization. Tree Planting 
Practices in Tropical Asia. Rome, Food and Agriculture Organization, 
1957. Illustrated, map, tables, bibliography. 


Digitized by Google 


Index 


Abbatoirs, 185, 186 
Accidents : 
industrial, 147 
shipping, 249 
traffic, 110 
Accountant-General, 75 
Administration, 41-47 
financial, 64-65 
Adult Education, 196, 217 
Advisory Council, 32 
Aedes Control, 294 
Agriculture, 75,. 183-85 
Aircraft and Aircrews, 259 
Air Force, Malayan Auxiliary, 
121-22 
Air Safety, 261, 263 
Services, 257-58, 261 
Training Corps, 125-26, 262 
Airport, 245, 257 
Fire Service, 261 
Alexandra Canal, 232 
Aliens, 14, 57, 60 
Ordinance, 30, 54 
Registration, 57 
Almoners, 286 
Amalgamated Pineapple Workers 
Union, 144_45 
Amalgamated Union of Public 
Employees, 141 
Ambulance Service, 230 
Aneka Ragam Ra’ayat, 21, 190, 
195, 200 


Animals, 181-83 
Appeal Courts, 99-100 
Apprenticeship, 134-35, 180-81 
Joint Advisory Council, 134 
Approved Schools, 100, 150-51 
Arbitration Board, 144 
Arbitration, Industrial, 144 
Architect, City Council, 230, 234 
Archives, Official, 192, 204 
Armed Services, 75, 117-20, 143, 
148, 192 
employment of civilians, 131- 
32 


(see also Defence Forces; Local 
Forces) 
Arts Festival, 210 


Assets, 76, 101, 103 

Assignee, Official, 75 

Assizes, 100 

Athletics, 160 

Audio-visual aids, 210 
Scholarships, 217 

Audit, 65, 75 

Australia : 
communications with, 268, 270 
ge and exports, 165, 169, 
trade with, 174 

Automobiles, 82, 129 

Auxiliary Fire Service, 123 


Badminton, 210 
Bankruptcy, 101-02 
Banks and Banking, 88—91 
Basketball, 210 
Beacons, navigational, 250-51, 261 
Bedok beach-park, 19 
Bencoolen, 25, 26 
Betting Tax, 66, 72, 74 
Bibliography, 305 
Bicycles, 113 
Birth rates, 51, 281 
Blind Welfare, 153 
Blood Transfusion, 301 
Board of Film Censors, 201-02 
Borneo, 26 

communications with, 264, 268 
Botanic Gardens, 21, 29, 75 
Boys’ Clubs and Homes, 152, 154 
Boys’ Hostels, 87, 152 
Boys’ Town, 153 
British Council, 216-17 
eT au Administration, 


British Red Cross Society, 152 

British Overseas Airways Corpora- 
tion, 257 

eee 20-21, 75, 190, 195, 
196 


Brunei, 276 

communications with, 270 
Budget : 

Cabinet, 14 

City Council, 80-81 


314 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Government, 63-64, 74-77 
Rural Board, 82-83 
Building, 63, 87, 236-43 
Burma : 
communications with, 248 
trade with, 174 
Buses, 110 
Bye-election, 2, 38, 40 


Cable and Wireless, 268-70 
Cadet Corps, 124-25 
Canada: 
communications with, 271 
trade with, 167, 174 
Cancer, 299 
Car parks, 267 
Cargo and Cargo handling: 
air, 258 
inspection, 257 
rail, 265 
sea, 86-87, 247-48, 254 
Cars, 110, 113, 266-67 
Casualties (see Accidents) 
Cathay Pacific Airways, 257 
Cattle, 182, 185 
Cement, 255 
Censorship : 
entertainments, 18, 104 
films, 18, 104 
publications, 18, 104 
Census: 
manual workers, 128-31 
population, 48 
road traffic, 110 
Central Provident Fund, 103, 146 
Ceylon: 
communications with, 252, 268 
Se of Commerce, 32, 35, 
172 
Chemistry eon 75, 114 
, 280 
Cheshire Home, 153, 298, 303 
Chief : 
Justice, 5, 99 
Minister, 2-3, 36, 75 
Secretary, 6, 75 
Child Welfare, 146, 155, 293 
Children’s Social Centres, 154-55 
(see also Juveniles) 
China, 23-25, 27-28, 30-31, 54, 56 
trade with, 166, 174 
Chinese : 
Secretariat, 75 
Schools, 39, 208 
Cholera, 29 
Christmas Island, 74 


communications with, 270 
Cigarettes, 14, 64, 71, 112 
Cinemas, 201, 228, 230 
Citizenship, 1, 4, 37-39, 40-41, 

60-61 


City Council, 2, 4-5, 9, 39, 78-81, 
146, 219-29, 231-34, 287 
Commission of Enquiry, 4, 5 
Provident Fund, 79 
Civil Aviation, 75, 257-63 
Civil Defence Corps, 123 
Civil Litigation, 99 
Civil Service (see Public Service) 
Cleansing and Hawker Depart- 
ment, 227-29 
Climate, 183 
Coconut and coconut oil, 163, 167 
Coffee, 163, 168, 173, 175 
Coinage, 88-89 
Colombo: 
communications with, 270 
Colombo Plan, 280, 284-85, 297 
Conference, 16, 172 
Technical Co-operation Scheme, 


Colonial Development and Wel- 
fare Act, 74, 87 
Commerce (see Trade) 
Commerce and Industry, 9, 75, 
161-88 
Commission of Enquiry, 3-4 
Corrupt Electoral Practices, 2-3 
Common Commodity Market, 15- 
16 
Communications, 75, 245-78 
Communists, 17, 31 
Community Centres, 18, 153-54, 
160, 242, 304 
Community Recreation Depart- 
ment, 18, 153 
Companies, 102 
Compensation, Workmen’s (see 
Workmen’s Compensation) 
Concerts, Cultural (see Aneka 
Ragam Ra’ayat) 
Conferences : 
All-Party, 36-38, 40 
Constitutional 36-38, 40 
International, 171-72 
Consolidated Rate Fund, City 
Council, 78-80 
Constabulary, Special and Volun- 
teer, 107, 109-10 
Constituencies, electoral, 1, 5, 35 
Constitution, 1, 34, 36-37, 40, 161 
Agreement, 37 


INDEX 315 


Constitution Exposition (see Singa- 
pore Constitution Exposi- 
tion) 

Contraband seizures, 112 

Contract Labour (see Labour) 

Co-operative Societies, 75, 181 

Copra, 163, 167 

Coroner, 101 

Corporation Duty, 71-72 

Cost of living: 

allowances, 13-14 
index, 138 

Cotton-spinning, 15 

Council of Ministers, 75 

eo ene and Advice Service, 

Courts, 99-101 

Industrial, 18, 127 
Labour, 139 

Creches, 155 

Crime, 103-06 

Criminal Investigation 
ment, 107 

Crippled Children’s Home, 152, 

Cultural Concerts (see Aneka 
Ragam Ra’ayat) 

Culture, 12, 20-21, 75, 189-206 

Pens division, 190, 194— 


Depart- 


Headquarters, 190-91 
Library division, 190, 202-04 
Museum division, 190, 205 
News division, 190, 191-92 
Printing division, 190, 205-06 
Publicity division, 190, 199-201 
Currency, 88-89 
Customs: 
Department, 57, 75, 112-14 
Duties, 3, 64, 69-71 


Dangerous Materials, Inspectorate 
of, 114 

Deaf and Dumb, 153 

Death rate, 19, 52-53, 282, 299 

Defence Forces, 75, 117-18 (see 
also Armed Forces) 

Debt, Public (see Public Debt) 

Democracy, 190 

Democratic Party, 35-36 

Dentistry, 301-02 

Department of Scientific and In- 
dustrial Research, 269 

Derris, 183 

Detention under Preservation of 
Public Security Ordinance, 
7-8, 37, 115 


Development Fund, 65, 76 
Development Plan, 15-16, 304 
Diagnostic Survey, 242-43 
Diptheria, 293, 296 
Disabled Persons, 135-36, 147, 149 
Employment of, 135-36 
Disease incidence, 182, 280, 299 
Disputes, Industrial (see Industrial 
Disputes) 
Disputes, Trade (see Trade Dis- 
putes) 
Distributive Trades, 170 
District Councils, 75, 228 
District Courts, 99-100, 157 
Dockyards, 129, 246, 255 
Doctors, 284, 287 
Dollar Exchange Rates, 91 
Drainage, 231, 236 
Driving Licences, 111, 266 
Drugs, 294 
Dry docks, 129, 246, 255 
Duchess Estate, 244 
Duties: 
Customs, 3, 64, 69, 112 
Others, 66-69, 71-73 
Dysentery, 299 


East India Company, 26-27 

a and Research Division, 
1 

Economic Commission for Asia 
and the Far East: 

Conference, 16, 171 

Education, 9, 12, 20, 62, 75, 207- 

18 


adult, 217 
Advisory Council, 209 
Chinese, 207 
Commercial, 213 
Committee, 209 
Department, 207-18 
finance, 20, 75, 207, 218 
health, 292 
overseas, 216-17 
Physical, 209, 210 
Plan, 207-08, 235 
Policy, 20, 207, 214 
Technical and Vocational, 212- 
14 
Eggs, 182, 186 
Election Day, 6-7 
Elections, 1, 6-7, 33-35, 39 
Electrical equipment, 173, 175 
Electrical Supplies, 19, 80, 220-24 
consumption, 221 
Employer Unions, 141 


316 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Employment, 17, 128-34 
Agricultural, 130, 132 
Armed Services, 130-32 
City Council, 131-32 
Conditions of, 136 
Exchange, 127, 133-34 
Government Service, 131 
Industrial, 131-32. 137 
Singapore Harbour Board, 131 
Women and juveniles, 137 
Endemic diseases, 295-97 
Enemy property, 73 
mnemestigg Officers (Ships), 249- 


English Language, 207-08 
Entertainments : 
duty, 68-69, 74 


(see also Arts Festival; Fine 
Arts) 


Entrepot Trade (see Trade) 
Entry Permits, 55-56 
Epidemic diseases, 295-97 
Estate: 
duty, 71, 74-75 
deceased persons, 102-03 
Estimates Committee, 65 
Europe: 
communications with, 271 
trade with, 167 
Exchange: 
Banks Association, 91, 172 
Control, 75, 172 
Employment, 1, 17, 128-34 
Rates, 92 
Excise duties, 69, 75 
Exhibitions, 176, 200, 204 
Expenditure (see Finance) 
Exports, 161-71, 173-75 
(see also under names of com- 
modities e.g. Rubber, Tin, etc.) 


Factories, 145, 230, 238 
pais of the University, 214— 
Farming, 183-85 
Federation of Mala a, 58, 197 
201, 202, 214 oa 
Pipa oy 248, 267, 270, 


Merdeka, 39 
migration, 54, 58 
relations with, 164 
trade with, 15, 164, 169-70, 
175, 179, 185 
Female prisoners, 116 
Fertilisers, 184 


Film Hire duty, 69 
Films. 187-88, 200-01 
censorship, 18, 75, 201 
Finance, 13-14, 42, 63-91 
Administration, 64-65 
Fine Arts, 200 
Fire Service, 229-31 
Airport, 261 
Fish and Fisheries, 75, 175, 178- 
181 
prices, 180 
Flats (see Housing) 
Flight Information Region, 260- 


61 
Flood Relief, 231-32, 236 
Food: 
poisoning, 294-95 
prices, 139 
supply, 166-68, 170, 173, 175 
Foreign Exchange Control, 75, 172 
Forests and Forestry, 75 
Formosa: 
trade with, 174 
Fort Canning Hill, 24 
France: 
trade with, 174 
Free Legal Aid, 157-59 
Fruit, 175 
Fuel (see Petroleum) 
Funds: 
Common estates administration, 
103 
Contingencies, 76 
Development, 65, 76-77 
Mercantile Marine, 252 
Provident, 79, 103, 146 
Silver Jubilee, 150 
War Distress, 150 


Gambling, 106, 300 
Games and Sports, 160, 210 
Garbage disposal, 130, 227-28 
Gardens, Botanic (see Botanic 
Gardens) 
Gas supplies, 19, 81, 225-27 
Gazette, Government, 205, 305 
General: 
Hospital, 235, 279, 286, 297-98 
Post Office, 276-78 
Germany (see West Germany) 
Gimson School for Boys, 150 
Girls’ Homecraft Centre, 151 
Girls’ Homes, 151 
Government of Singapore, 41-47 
Government Service (see Public 
Service) 


INDEX 317 


Governor, 7-8, 27, 32, 36, 75, 99, 
121 

Governor in Council, 99 

Gunong Pulai, 219 

Gymnastics, 210 


Harbour, 245-46 
Harbour Board (see Singapore 
Harbour Board) 
Havelock Park, 224 
Hawkers, 4, 228-29 
Health, 19, 75, 114, 235, 279-304 
finance, 287-91 
High Court, 99-100 
History : 
Singapore, 23-41 
Hockey, 210 
Homes: 
mentally deficient children, 152 
Old People’s 152-53 
Welfare, 150-53 
Hong Kong, 27, 188 
Chinese Manufacturers Associa- 
tion, 176 
communications with 252, 260, 
268, 270 
trade with, 174 
Hong Lim Green Open Air 
Theatre and Park, 19, 201 
Hospital Reserve, 124 
Hospitals, 235, 297-300 
Hostels, 87, 152, 238 
Hotels, 57, 105, 238 
Hours of work in industry, 136 
Housing, 12, 85-86, 236-44 
finance, 85-86 
rents, 74, 85-86 
Housing and Development Board, 
4, 85, 244 
Hydrographic surveys, 251 


- Jdentity Cards, 57-58 
Immigration, 4, 28-30, 75 
Aliens Ordinance, 54 
a cat Ordinance (1959), 
Control, 53-57 
sa aaa ae Exports, 75, 129, 161- 


(see also under names of com- 
modities, e.g. Rubber, tin, 
etc.) 

Imprisonment, 100 
Improvement : 
Plan—Town Planning, 240—44 
Rate Taxation, 78 


Trust (see Singapore Improve- 
ment Trust) 
Income Tax 3-4, 66-68, 74-75 
Malayan Board, 67 
Independents, 5, 7 
India, 23, 27, 31, 54, 56 
communications with, 252, 268 
trade, 26-27, 165-66, 174 
Indo-China : 
communications with, 252 
Indonesia, 15-16, 28, 163-64, 167, 
169, 171-72, 176, 185, 248, 
276 
conikanone with, 247, 252, 
imports and exports, 165-69, 
171, 174, 179, 185 
Industrial : 
accidents, 147. 
classification, 132 
court, 18, 127, 143 
development, 16, 172, 176-86 
disputes, 143-45 
employment, 131-32, 137 
Production, 165, 169, 176 
Promotion Board, 10 
relations, 143-45 
training, 134-36 
Industrialisation, 3, 15-16 
Industries, 128-31 
Infant Welfare, 293 
mortality, 19, 29 
Infectious diseases, 279, 291 
hospital, 296 
Influenza, 299 


Information Services, Govern- 
ment, 6, 20, 75, 189, 191-95, 
203 


Injuries Compensation, 147 
Inquest, 101 
Insecticides, 183-84 
Institute of Health, 285-86 
Institutions : 
charitable and welfare, 150-53 
educational, 207-18 
medical, 214, 298 
Interest, 74 
Internal Security, 16-17, 41 
Council, 10-11, 38, 40 
International : 
Airport 245, 257 
Civil Aviation Organisation, 262 
Conference, 171-72 
Labour Organisation, 135-36 
Tin Agreement, 164 


318 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Iron and Steel: 

imports and exports, 173, 175 
Iskander Shah, 24 
Italy : 

trade with, 174 


Japan: 
air lines, 257 
communications with, 268 
trade with, 28, 166, 174 
Japanese Occupation, 30-31 
Johore River Survey, 220 
Johore Straits, 25 
Judges, 99-100 
Judicial, 75, 99-101 
Juveniles : 
court, 100-01 
delinquency, 117 
employment, 117 


Kallang Estate, 244 

Kallang Park, 19, 224 

Kandang Kerbau Hospital, 235, 
297-99 

Keppel Harbour, 251, 255 

pevcne vel Siu Free Hospital, 


Labour, 17-18, 30, 128 
Commission of Inquiry, 128 
Court, 139 
Department, 75, 127-28, 145-46 
(see also Employment; Industry) 

Labour Front, 2, 36, 40 

Labour Party, 34 

Labuan, 32 
communications with, 261 

Land: 

Office, 75 
Sales, 74 
Use, 177-78 

Languages, 61-62 

Law Courts, 99-10] 

Laws of Singapore (see Ordin- 

ances) 

Legal Aid Bureau, 144, 156-59 

Legal Department, 75, 92 

Legislation (see Ordinances) 

Legislative Assembly, 2-4, 11, 65 
Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2 

Legislative Council, 32-35 
Elections Ordinance, 33 

Legislature, 75 

Leprosy Hospital (see Trafalgar 

Home) 


Liabilities, 76 
Liberal Socialist Party, 2, 5-7, 36, 
40 


Libraries, 9, 75, 190, 202-04 
Licences : 
aircrews, 259-60 
animals, 181 
children in entertainment busi- 
ness, 146 
fishing industry, 178 
imports and exports, 170-71 
motor vehicles, 82, 110-11, 266 
motor vehicle drivers, 266 
places of amusements, 104 
wireless receivers, 194 
Light Dues Board, 247 
Lighters and Lighterage, 246, 248 
Lighthouses, 250-51 
Lighting, Street, 83, 224 
Liquidation of Companies, 102 
Liquors, 66, 70, 74, 112, 114 
Literacy, 61-62 
Litigation, 99 
Little Sisters of the Poor, 153 
Livestock, 182, 185 
Loans: 
City Council, 80, 81 
Government, 14, 16, 65-66, 74, 
76-77 
Improvement Trust, 85-86 
Interest rates, 66, 91 
Local Authorities (see City 
Council; Rural Board) 
Local Forces, 118 
(see also Armed _ Services; 
Defence Forces) 
Local Government, 4, 9, 75, 241 
Lotteries, 72 


Machinery, 145, 173, 175 
Magistrates, 100-01 
Mails (see Postal Services) 
Majapahit, 24 
Malacca, 24-26, 32 
Malaria, 29, 295, 299 
Malay Schools, 208-09 
Malay States, 27, 32 
Malaya (see Federation of 
Malaya) 
Malaya and British Borneo Cur- 
rency Commissioners, 88 
Malaya War Distress (Singapore) 
Fund, 150 
Malayan: 
Air Training Corps, 125-26 
Airways Ltd., 257 


INDEX 319 


Auxiliary Air Force, 121-22 
Board of Income Tax, 67 
Exchange Banks Association, 91 
Naval Volunteer Reserve, 118— 
19, 246 
Railway, 265 
Stevedoring and Transportation 
Company, 248 
Malayan Chinese Association, 2, 
, 7, 35-36 
Malayan Domocratic Union, 33 
Malayan Union, 31-32 
Malayanisation, 14, 36-38, 43, 47, 
283 


Manila: 

communications with, 260 
Manual workers, 42, 128-31 
Manufacturing Industry (see In- 

dustrial Production) 

Manure (see Fertilisers) 
Marine: 

Department, 75, 247, 250 

Police, 57, 111, 257 

ae Department, 75, 250, 


Markets and Marketing, 162-69, 
177, 179, 228-29, 234 
Marriages, 58-60, 75 
Marymount Vocational School for 
Girls, 153 
Master Attendant, 247 
Master Plan, 242-43 
Maternal Mortality, 19, 299 
services, 285, 293-94, 298 
Mayor, 2, 4, 5 
Medical : 
finance, 287 
Health Department, 75 
Registers, 287 
Services, 19, 75, 235, 279, 283-85 
Store, 302-03 
Training, 285-86 
Mental Diseases and Institutions, 


294, 298 
Mentally Deficient Children’s 
Homes (see Homes: Mentally 


Deficient Children) 
Merchant Shipping, 246-48 
Meteorological Services, 75, 245, 

263-64 
Middle Road Hospital, 293 
Middleton Hospital, 296 
Midwifery, 285, 293, 296 
Midwives, 293 
Migration, 28, 58 


Military Forces, Singapore (see 
Armed Services: Defence 
Forces) 

Milk, 175 

Mining, 131-32, 142 

Ministries, 41 

Money (Currency), 88-89 

Mortality rates, 299 

Motor cycles, 110 

Motor oun 110-11, 113, 266- 


imports and exports, 173, 175 
traffic, 110 
Mount Emily Home, 151 
Mountbatten, Earl, 30 
Multilingualism, 190 
Municipal Fund, 79 
Museum Raffles, 9, 75, 190, 205 
Music, 153, 196 
Library, 204 
Scholarships, 217 


Nantina Home, 152 
Nanyang University, 20, 41 
Prescott Commission, 20, 215 


Ne Ah Leng Committee, 20, 


Narcotics, 113 
National Anthem, 21 
National Language, 12, 189-90, 
207, 211 
National Library, 202-04 
National Loyalty Week, 21, 116, 
119, 121, 155, 196, 201, 204, 
206, 210, 224, 292 
National Registration 
Cards, 57 
National Service, 119-21 
National Theatre Fund, 21, 201 
Nationality, 60-61 
Naturalisation, 60-61 
Navigational Aids, 250-51 
Navy (see Malayan Royal Naval 
Reserve; Royal Navy) 
Netherlands : 
trade with, 174 
New Zealand: 
communications with, 270 
trade with, 174 
Newspapers, 191-92 
North Borneo: 
communications with, 248, 277 
trade with, 174 
Nurses, 19, 285-87, 298 
Nutrition, 292 


Identity 


320 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Occupations, 127-47 

(see also Employment) 
Official Assignee, 75 
Old People’s Homes, 152-53 
Omnibuses, 266 
Opium, 29, 105, 112 

Treatment Centre, 115, 298, 301 
Orchestras, 196 
Orders-in-Council, 1, 32-34, 40, 42 
Ordinances, 92-99 
Organisation and Methods 

Branch, 42-43 

Orphans and Orphanages, 151-53 
Outpatients, 19, 279, 298, 300 
Overtime pay, 145 


Pan-American Airways, 258 
Parties, Political (see Political 
Parties) 
Pasir Panjang Power Station, 80, 
20-21 
Pawnshops, 106 
Paya Lebar Airport, 245, 257 
Penang, 25-27, 32 
Pensions, 75 
People’s Action Party, 2-3, 5-8, 
12, 17, 35, 38-41 
Pepper, 167-68 
Perak House, 151 
Petroleum, 66, 71, 74, 112, 114, 
169, 173 
Pharmacy, 214 
Philippines : 
communications with, 268, 277 
trade with, 167, 174 
Physical Education, 209-10 
Scholarships, 217 
Pigs, 182, 185-86 
Pilgrimage to Mecca, 248 
Pilots: 
aircraft, 259 
Pineapple Industry, 165 
Pineapples, 163, 165, 175 
Police: 
Force, 75, 106-10 
Marine, 111, 257 
Radio Division, 108 
Singapore Harbour Board, 122, 
251 
Special Constabulary, 107, 109- 
10 


Political Parties, 1-3, 7 
(see also under names of 
Parties, e.g. Labour Front, 
People’s Action Party, etc.) 


Political Study Centre, 14, 44 
Polytechnic (see Singapore Poly- 
technic) 
Population, 19, 28-30, 48-62, 244 
Migration, 58 
Natural Increase, 19, 50-51, 244 
Port of Singapore, 162, 245-46 
Post Office Savings Bank, 90, 277 
Postal Services, 74-75, 258, 276-78 
Poultry, 182--83, 186 
Power Stations, 80, 220, 221 
Preservation of Public Security 
Ordinance, 7, 16, 37, 41, 
106 
Press (see Newspapers) 
Preventive Branch, Customs, 112-— 


Prices : 
Food, 139, 180, 186 
Rubber, 163-64 
Tin, 163-64 
Primary Production, 176-86 
Primary Schools, 207-09, 235 
Prime Minister, 8-10, 12, 14 
Printing, 75, 190, 200, 205-06 
Prisons, 75, 115-17 
Inquiry Commission, 116 
Welfare Work, 117 
Probate and Administration, 102 
Probation Service. 117, 156 
Production, 163-186 
Primary, 176-86 
Progressive Party, 33-36 
Prostitution, 156 
Public: 
Amenities, 19 
Assistance, 148-49 
Debt, 65, 75 
Health, 19, 75, 114, 235, 279- 
304 
Finance, 63-91 
Works, 75, 146, 232, 235-36, 
251, 279 
Public Service, 13-14, 33, 41-43 
Commission, 38, 42, 75 
Composition, 42-43 
Staff Relations, 46-47 
Training, 43-46 
Public Trustee, 102-03 
Public Utilities, 5, 19, 219-36 
Publications, Government, 193-94, 
205-06 
Publicity, 190, 197, 199-200 
Pulau—Island 
Brani, 163 


INDEX 321 


Bukom, 246, 250 
Sebarok, 246, 251 
Punishment of crime, 100 


Qantas Empire Airways, 257-58 
Quarantine, 182, 295-96 
Quarrying, 131-32 

Quays and Wharves, 246-47 


Races of Singapore, 48-53 
Radar, 264 
Radio, 272-75 
Radio Orchestra, 196 
Radio Singapore, 20, 190, 194-97 
News Division, 191, 197 
Raffles : 
Museum and Library, 9, 75 
National Library, 202-04 
Sir Thomas Stamford, 24-26 
Railways, 265 
Rainfall, 183 
Ramakrishna Mission Home, 153 
Ranikhet disease, 182 
Rates (see also Taxation): 
City Council, 78, 80, 82, 86 
Education, 78 
Electricity, 222-23 
Improvement, 78 
Rural Board, 82 
Red Cross Society, 152 
Rediffusion, 198 
Refuse disposal, 227-28, 279 
Religions, 62 
Remand Prison, 115 
Rendel, Sir George, 34 
Commission, 34 
Constitution, 34 
Rents, 74, 85 
Research, 176, 182, 191 
Animal Husbandry, 182 
Meteorological, 264 
Reserve Unit Police, 107 
Retail prices, 139, 180, 186 
Revenue (see Finance) 
Rice, 166-67, 173, 175, 186 
Ridley, H.M., 29 
Roads, 83, 235-36 
Roman Catholic Organisations, 
153 
Royal: 
Air Force, 118 
Malayan Navy, 117 
Navy, 118, 248 
Singapore Anti-Tuberculosis 
Clinic, 149, 208, 303 


Singapore Flying Club, 259 
Rubber, 29 
Packers’ Association, 172 
Frice and Trade, 15, 63, 163-64, 
173, 175 
Re-milling Industry, 63 
Rural Board, 9, 18, 74, 81, 84, 228, 
237, 239 
Rural Development, 176-78 


Safety: 
Aircraft, 261, 263 
Factories, 145 
Ships, 252 
Sago, 168 
St. Andrew’s Mission Hospital, 
149, 303 
St. James Power Station, 80, 220- 
21 


St. John’s Island, 115, 298, 301 
St. Michael’s Estate, 244 
Salaries, 14, 47 
Salvation Army, 152 
Sanitary Inspectors, 286 
Sanitation, 130, 233-34 
Sarawak: 
cen ununiceHons with, 248, 270, 
trade with, 169, 174 
Savings Bank, Post Office, 90 
Sawmills, 169 
Scholarships, Government, 43, 45- 
46, 217, 284 
School Cadet Corps, 125 
Schools (see also Education), 20, 
207, 235, 238 
Enrolment, 208 
Medical Service, 292-93, 297- 
98, 302 
Six-day week, 20, 207 
Syllabus and textbooks, 209 
Teachers, 20, 208, 210-12 
Types of, 208 
Scientific and Industrial Research, 
Department of 
(see Department of Scientific 
and Industrial Research) 
Sea Cadet Corps, 124 
Seamen, 249-50 
Seamen’s Welfare Board, 252 
Secondary Schools, 208-10, 235 
Secret ponies 2, 18-19, 103-05, 
00 


Self-Government, 34~38 
Sembawang Research Station, 182 


322 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, 
303 


Sewerage, 80, 233-34 
Shariah Court, 60 
Shipping, 245-47 
Accidents, 249, 251, 253 
Articles, 248 
Bunkers and stores, 169 
Crews, 249 
Radio, 250-51 
Registry, 247-48 
Repair, 255 
Services, 248 
Survey and safety, 252 
Signal Stations, 250 
Silver Jubilee Fund, 150 
Simla Rules (Shipping), 252 
Singapore: 
administration, 41-47 
Airport, 245, 257 
Anti-Tuberculosis Clinic, 149, 
298, 303 
Bus Workers Union, 141 
Cement Industrial Company 
Ltd., 255 
Constitutional Exposition, 155, 
176, 210, 292 
Council for Adult Education, 
217 
Flight Information Region, 260 
Harbour Board, 9, 145, 162, 236, 
246, 251, 253-54 
Harbour Board Reserve, 122 
history, 23-41 
Hospital Reserve, 124 
Improvement Trust, 18, 84-85, 
236, 241-44 
Infantry Regiment, 15, 121 
legend, 24 
Malaya Union, 35-36 
Manufacturers’ Association, 172 
Mercantile Marine Fund, 252 
ae and Sports Council, 
Polytechnic, 20, 214 
population, 28-29, 48-58 
river, 246 
Shop and Factory Workers 
Union, 36-37 
Taxi Drivers Union, 141 
Telephone Board, 272 
Tourist Association, 187 
Traction Company Employees 
Union, 18, 141, 144 
treaty with Johore, 25 
Youth Council, 154 
Youth Sports Centre, 210 


Singapore Military Forces (see 
Armed Services; Defence 
Forces) 

Singapore People’s Alliance, 2-3, 

40 


Small-pox, 293, 296 
Smuggling, 171 
Soap, 171 
Social Security, 148 
Social Welfare Department, 18, 
75, 150, 153 
In-service training, 156 
Societies, 103 
charitable, 152-53, 252 
co-operative, 181 
secret, 2, 18-19, 103-05 
South Africa: 
communications with, 268 
trade with, 167, 174 
Southern Islands, 84 
Speaker of the Legislature, 35 
Special Constabulary, 107, 109- 
10 


Spices : 

imports and exports, 173 
Sports (see Games and Sports) 
Sri Vijaya Empire, 23-24 
Staff Relations, 46-47 
Staff Training, 43-46 
Stamford Canal, 232 
Stamp duties, 64, 66, 73-75 
State Advocate-General, 9, 104 
State of Singapore, 1, 161 
Statistics Department, 75 
Stevedoring, 129 
Straits-born, 29, 31 
Straits of Johore, 25 
Straits of Malacca, 23, 25, 27, 264 
Straits of Rhio, 25 
Straits of Singapore, 25 
Straits Settlements, 26-27, 32 

War Loans, 65 
Straits Steamship Company, 248 
Street : 

Cleansing, 227 

Hawker, 228-29 

Lighting, 224 
Strikes, 143-44 
Suez Canal, 27-28, 246 
Sugar: 

imports and exports, 175 
Sumatra, 25 
Supplies, 75 
Supreme Court, 4 
Survey: 

Land, 75 

Vegetable production, 184 








INDEX 323 


Hydrographic, 251 
Sweepstakes, 66, 72, 74 
Swimming, 210 
Syllabuses and Textbooks, 209 


Tamil language, 207 

Tan Tock Seng Hospital, 150, 235, 
286, 296-97 

Taiping Rebellion, 28 

Tanjong yee Dock Company, 


Tariffs, Customs, 3, 69-71 
Taxation (see also duties; finance), 
66-68 


Taxis, 110 
Teachers, 20, 208, 210 
Training College, 20, 209-11 
Tebrau River Water Supply, 219 
Telecommunications, 75, 245, 267— 
271 
Telegraphs, 268-70 
Telephones, 245, 272-75 
Teleprinter, 270-71 
Telex, 267-68, 270-71 
Telok Ayer Basin, 246 
Temasek, 23 
Tetanus, 293 
Textbooks, 209 
Textiles, 26, 163, 165-66 
imports and exports, 173, 175 
Thailand: 
communications with, 248, 252, 
261, 270, 277 
trade with, 26, 164, 166, 169, 174, 
176 
Thomson Road Hospital, 298, 300 
Timber, 163, 169 
Tin, 163-64, 173, 175 
Tobacco, 14, 63-64, 70-72, 74, 
112, 114, 163, 173, 175 
Totalisator betting duty, 66, 72, 74 
Tourism, 187, 245 
Town and Country Planning, 240—- 
44 


Trade, 15, 26, 161-76, 245 
Channels of, 170 
Commissioner, 172 
Disputes, 139, 143-45 
Exhibitions, 176 
Marks, 75 
Missions, 176 
Principal commodities, 163-69, 

173 


Principal countries, 174 

Schools, 212-13 

Unions, 11, 17-18, 35-37, 97, 
127, 141-42, 144 

Volume of, 173-75 


Trafalgar Home, 300 
Traffic: 
Air, 257-58 
Control, 111 
Roads, 110, 266 
Shipping, 254 
Training: 
Industry, 134—36 
Public Service, 43-46 
Transferred Children, 155 
Transport, 245 (see also Civil Avia- 
tion; Railways; Roads; 
Shipping) 
Industry, 129-32 
Travelling Dispensaries, 293-94 
Treasury, 64, 75 
Trolley buses, 110 
Trustee, Public (see Public Trustee) 
Tuberculosis, 148-50, 280-81, 296- 
97, 299 
Typhoid, 299 


Ulu Pandan Canal Scheme, 232 
Unemployment, 17, 133-34 
Relief Scheme, 134 
Union of Soviet Socialist Republic 
of Russia: 
trade with, 174 
United Kingdom, 26, 249 
communications with, 268, 271 
trade with, 168, 174 
United Malay National Organisa- 
tion, 5, 7, 32, 35-36, 38 
United States of America: 
communications with, 268, 271 
trade with, 168, 174 
University: 
Malaya, 214-15 
Nanyang, 20, 41, 215 
Prescott Commission, 20, 215 
Gwee eee Committee, 20, 


Utilities, Public (see Public Utili- 
ties) 


Vagrants, 115 

Vegetables, 175, 183-85 

Vehicles (see Motor Vehicles) 

Venereal diseases, 279, 293 

Vernacular Schools, 207-08, 210 

Veterinary Division, 75, 181-82 

Vice, 105 

Vietnam: 

trade with, 174 

Visual aids, 209 ; 

Voluntary Welfare Agencies, 147, 
150, 152 


324 SINGAPORE ANNUAL REPORT 1959 


Volunteer: 
Corps, Singapore, 119 
Special Constabulary, 107, 109- 
10 
Voting, 2, 33 


Wages (see also Occupations), 136- 
37 


War Distress Fund, 150 
Warehouses, 246 
Water Supplies, 19, 78, 219-20, 300 
consumption, 19, 219-20 
Weather, 263-64 
Welfare: 
Industrial, 145-47 
Seamen’s, 252 
Services, 75, 147-59 
West Germany: 
trade with, 174 
Wharves and quays, 246-47 
Wholesale prices, 163-69, 186 
fish, 180 


Whooping cough, 293 

Wireless (see also Broadcasting), 
267-76 

oe a Girls protection, 151, 


Women’s Charter, 60 

Woodbridge Hospital, 286, 294 

Woodstock Drive Children’s Home, 
152 


Workers’ Party, 5, 40 
Workmen’s Compensation, 147 


X-rays, 297 


Yang di-Pertuan Negara, 8, 11, 16, 
21-22, 121 

York Hill Girls Homecraft Cen- 
tre, 151 

Young Persons (see Juveniles) 

Youngberg Memorial Hospital, 
303 

Youth Organisations, 154 


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